News

By Dan Moffett

    MANALAPAN — Kersen De Jong was the most controversial citizen in Manalapan because that’s what he wanted to be.
Born in the Netherlands, De Jong said he believed it his duty as a naturalized American to speak out whenever he found injustice. And in Manalapan, he thought he found it a lot.
    His criticism of the town was public and spirited, and his complaints went beyond the spectrum of routine municipal governance. De Jong complained to federal agencies about Manalapan’s attitudes toward race and people with disabilities, and criticized the behavior of police, administrators, elected officials and neighbors with equal fervor.
    Blood pressures rose across the dais when De Jong took the microphone at a town meeting.
    During one recent crusade, he closed emails with a favorite quotation from Roger Baldwin, a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union: “So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we’ll be called a democracy.”
    Mr. De Jong died Feb. 17 after a brief illness while vacationing in Hawaii. He was 65.
    “The greatest thing Kersen did for Manalapan was to stand up and get the town to do the right thing for disabled people,” said Howard Roder, a former commissioner, who credits De Jong with forcing officials to make the Town Hall and library comply with federal disability standards.
    “He also is responsible for getting more handicapped parking spaces at Plaza del Mar,” Roder said. “As far as I’m concerned, he tried to do what was best for Manalapan. Kersen should be congratulated and praised.”
    Mr. De Jong’s empathy for people with disabilities came at a high cost and was intimately understood. When he was 26, he lost both his legs in a car accident in Manhattan.  Friends say he adjusted quickly to walking with artificial legs. In Manalapan, he often came to meetings sitting on a skateboard, paddling it into the room with his hands.
    A true patron of the arts, Mr. De Jong and his partner of 37 years, Phillip Perkins, were known for parties with classical music performances at their Lands End Road home.
    Mr. De Jong’s love of music led to associations with the Boys Choir of Harlem and the Chicago Boys Choir. He started a foundation called the Netherlands American Community Trust to help young artists. Mr. De Jong was the managing director of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in the United States.
    Friends say he was a consummate networker, who hired many Dutch interns to give them a start in his adopted country.
    He was a member of the board of governors for the Roosevelt Institute and a judge on the United Nations Franklin D. Roosevelt International Disability Rights Award Advisory Board.
    Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands granted him a knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau to recognize his contributions to Dutch-American relations.
    “It’s time to light a candle, say a prayer and wish him well on the next part of his journey,” said former Manalapan Vice Mayor Louis DeStefano.
    De Jong is survived by Perkins and a brother, Martin. The family requests donations to Shake-a-Leg, Miami, instead of flowers.