JACKSON – Not everyone gets to have their own street named after them but Gloria Yanis isn’t just anyone. While no one will forget her, her township legacy will always live on with Gloria Lane, a street in a new development being built within the township.
Friends, family and law enforcement representatives came out for the recent dedication of Gloria Lane. Yanis has worked for Jackson Township for 44 years. Her co-workers, including Jackson Township Tax Assessor Peter Maher, helped make the event happen.
Maher made it his mission to honor Yanis in this way and it took some persuasion and planning. He worked with her daughter Julie and other family members to keep the effort a secret which led to her being very surprised on the morning of the dedication.
Maher said “there is a new subdivision in Jackson named the Club at Jackson 21, and we worked to get one of the streets named after her, Gloria Lane.”
Julie Yanis spoke with The Jackson Times in advance of the dedication noting her mother’s background and long association with the community. “She has been with the township since 1981. She was in the court clerk’s office for five years and then she transferred into the assessor’s office in1986. I think she became the Assistant Tax Accessor in 1991. She’s been there for a very long time.”
“She is somebody that everybody goes to when they need any advice or if they need help with figuring anything out. She is the backbone there really,” her daughter remarked.
The township recently underwent a reassessment and thus Gloria Yanis like the rest of the staff were inundated with questions from residents. “She is going to be 79 in December but is still able to keep up with the changing pace of the town which is in constant motion now. She is keeping up with it and we can’t believe that at her age she has the stamina.”
Julie Yanis spoke of her mother’s wealth of knowledge. “A lot of people go to her in the office. If she isn’t there, they wait to speak to her. She does a lot in that office. Her heart is in this town.”
“Her parents bought their first property here in 1954. They lived part time in New York and here. This was their country house. Since 1954 she’s had her heart here and then when she got married, they bought their home here in 1973,” Yanis added.
“This is home to her. She is totally invested in Jackson. She sees the change but she remembers what it was and she knows that there are still people like her that love the town. My father passed away and she moved in with us so her grandchildren are in the school system here. My brothers and I graduated from (Jackson) Memorial (High School) and now she sees her grandkids going through the school district. She can’t imagine going somewhere else,” Julie Yanis added.
“It is family and tradition. We go to Jackson Day and it’s like my daughters always say ‘you know everybody here’ and we really do because I’ve been here my entire life and their grandma has been here since the 1950s so we know a lot of people. She knows the ins and outs of the town. Anything going on she is generally a part of,” she remarked.
Club at Jackson 21 is “a town home development not single-family home. When Peter was talking to the builders they were talking about (street) names and that is when they came up with it. The other street names are from shore towns like Brielle and Sea Girt so Gloria’s Lane really stands out,” her daughter added.
The big day came and members of the assessor’s office staff, friends, family, Police Chief Matthew Kunz and fellow officers lined up to wish Gloria well. Her son Jay came from Brooklyn for the dedication.
“I couldn’t believe this. They were able to get all these people together,” Gloria Yanis said with a big smile on her face.
Maher read the special proclamation dedication. “Today we are here to dedicate this street to someone who means a heck of a lot to me. In grateful recognition for her extraordinary service and dedication to the township of Jackson we proudly dedicate this street to Gloria Yanis – a name that is synonymous with commitment and integrity.”
“This is really unbelievable. I thank you all especially Peter because I know a lot of this is his handiwork. I really appreciate it and I have to say, I love what I do. I love my job. People keep on asking, when are you going to retire? I tell them I don’t know what I want to be until I grow up. I’m not ready yet. This is like a dream come true that I see the work that I’ve worked on and I see that people are coming to Jackson,” Gloria Yanis said.
“From when I came in 1954 it was like nothing…chicken farms but I liked it. My kids grew up here. I went to school here. My granddaughters are in school here so I love Jackson and I love what I do. I have met many people in the years I’ve been here and each person I’ve met I’ve appreciated. We have had so many good employees that I worked with that come and go. It’s a good town,” she added.
Yanis was also recognized a few weeks later with a proclamation read by Mayor Jennifer Kuhn at a council meeting.
