The Spirit of Saddle Brook

This one hurt. This one hurts a lot. We come across people in life that are just aren't supposed to go. It's an impossible thought in our minds. We can't imagine the world without certain people. Jack Impomeni for the little town of Saddle Brook was one of those legends that we just thought would be around forever. Truth be told, he was taken from us way too soon.

Mr. Jack Impomeni went to Emerson High School and attended Jersey City College (today is Jersey City University), and is from a family full of teachers. He went to school to become a teacher himself and at the age of 23 became a Biology teacher at Saddle Brook High School. The high school, itself was barely ten years old at the time. But Mr. Impomeni was one of the pillars of which that school stands on today. He was an excellent teacher, and truly wanted to empower the students he taught. He connected with them, looked out for them, and inspired them. Saddle Brook High School was the only school he ever worked at.

During his years there, he met some phenomenal teachers who were like-minded in the sense of creating a school spirit for all its students that he always said contributed to influencing him as a teacher as well. They were also some of his closest friends. He said to me once that "they took a regular teacher and turned me (Jack) into a complete teacher." One being Mr. Gene Hannigan, an excellent teacher respected by many, influenced Mr. Impomeni to being an advocate for the students. There was also Mr. Salvatore Dinello, the band director, whom he had been very involved with the trips and concerts with and got Impomeni involved in the cultural aspects of the school. There was also Mr. Mario J Alia, whom the Saddle Brook gymnasium is named after, who inspired Mr. Impomeni to coach in the athletic department of the school. Mr. Impomeni coached Boys Basketball for 15 years, tennis for five years, head varsity softball coach for a year, and  Girls Basketball for ten years.

But one teacher who Mr. Impomeni particularly was the best of friends with was Mr. Chuck Broadhurst. The two names Impomeni and Broadhurst were synonymous with each other. For 40 years, there is not one person during those years who do not have an Impomeni-Broadhurst anecdote. Jack used to help Chuck with all the spring musicals that they put on; Even ten years after Chuck retired, Jack would run up and down the aisles having everyone stand for the Hallelujah Chorus; they were the epitome of what it meant to be best of friends. It's very hard not to think of one and not the other. The two of them together was like watching a vaudeville act. The ultimate dynamic duo. They truly loved each other very much; no truer best friends could there ever be.

Chuck Broadhurst and Jack Impomeni shooting off the cannon at the SBSH football games.

Jack Impomeni was truly a master educator. He taught biology for 30 years and began the physiology class that is still taught at the high school today. He always attributed his best of friends and mentors in getting him involved outside the classroom which he told me was the true success of being a teacher. He had said:

"The more you work with kids after school away from the classroom, the more successful you'll be inside the classroom."

-Jack Impomeni

He found coaching to be a truly rewarding experience, being with the students in a different light. For several years, coaches of Saddle Brook High School over the years continued to get together each year where they would do an annual trip and barbecues and dinners. My family attended that high school with all those teachers from 1974 to this present year in 2017. The teachers were more of a family than co-workers and that is something that truly made the school a success when it was at it's prime. It also inspired and encouraged many of us who became teachers as well. I am sure they will continue to get together, although a huge hole will be felt with Mr. Impomeni's absence. 

For the last ten years of his time at SBHS he became the Vice Principal. My grandfather was actually the one to tell him that he got the job! He took this leadership position to make a more profound impact for the future of the students, having a superb balance of advocating for the teachers but never forgetting the kids. I remember, if I ever had a problem, he was the one I could go to. I knew he was fair, and he also always made the right decisions that benefited all in the end. One year I actually dressed up as him for Halloween!

In 2006 he retired after 40 years at Saddle Brook High School. I had the good fortune to sing at his retirement dinner at Macaluso's, and I also did the interview with him before he retired. And I remember what he said:

"I'm retiring from the job, but I am not retiring from the life. I will always be a Falcon at heart."

-Jack Impomeni

And he was true to his word. He retired but if you went to a football game, or a choral concert, or a spring musical, or a track meet, or a dedication for the school, you were sure to have seen Jack Impomeni along with some of his great friends Gene Hannigan, Sal Dinello, Robert Kaplan, or Paul Bachman. I would go back to all these events myself and I always knew I would see him and would look for him. It was always so good to see him. He would always ask about my family, he asked about my business, he truly wanted to know if things were good in my life and if I was happy. Sometimes I would see him at an early mass in church (probably because they left early for a football game lol). 

All of our teachers from there were extraordinary. When I started my own school, I always knew I wanted my students to feel the same way these teachers made us feel. That they belonged to an establishment that truly cared for theri growth and personal development. They had instructors who were more like family than just teachers who worked together. I advocated for them in the most positive ways I could. I was involved in their lives outside the school like all my teachers were for me. My mother, my aunts and uncles, and I were truly blessed to have these wonderful people in our lives, as they truly were even years after we all left the school. 

Jack Impomeni, Chuck Broadhurst, Robert Kaplan, and Donna TenHoeve.

Jack Impomeni passed away last week. I'm not the only one to say he was taken from us too soon. He was a man of strong faith and I know that heaven has received a new angel who will be looking down on us for sure. Like so many, I will have some very fond memories of Jack Impomeni that are tattooed upon my heart. I will remember him walking Chuck into his surprise retirement choral reunion, I will remember his morning announcements on the loudspeaker, I will remember how eloquently he would speak to you, I will remember how proud he was when he spoke of his grandchildren, I will remember his dry sense of humor, I will remember his laugh when he saw me dressed up as him for Halloween, I will remember him swing dancing with Helen Hymanson or Dawn Schwartz, I will remember how he came to every function, I will remember singing at his retirement party, and I will remember his smile during our 2006 interview when he spoke of his fellow colleagues and friends in such a loving manner.

I believe in life, we get the privilege of walking this earth alongside some truly magnificent people who sometimes we have the honor of calling "friend". Jack Impomeni was truly one of those remarkable people whom it was the highest honor and greatest privilege we could have had walking on this earth. He made a difference in so many lives. He made our world a better place. On behalf of my family and friends, we send our condolences to the Impomeni family. We wish you a time of healing and send you prayers from all over during this most difficult time. As much as this hurts us all, the one comfort that I think we all have in any of this is that Jack Impomeni and Chuck Broadhurst are reunited once again. 

Chuck Broadhurst and Jack Impomeni, reunited once more!

Me and Jack two years ago.

R.I.P Jack Impomeni
1943-2017