Jack Needle

Jack taught at Red Bank Regional High School for 16 years and at Brookdale Community College for 34 years. He was honored by the Alumni Association of both institutions: RBRHS Hall of Fame in 2004 and the BCC Barringer Award in 1990. Professor Needle earned is AB at Northeastern University and his AMT at Harvard University. Additionally he attended Rutgers University and received fellowships and scholarships to Oxford (Exeter College), Princeton (2), SUNY at Stony Brook (2), University of Chicago (2), University of Jordan (Aman), Yad Vashem (Jerusalem) Robert A. Taft Institute of Government (Eagleton Institute), and 5 more. Active in professional activities, he was president of the BCC Faculty Association twice and president of the board of the Eastern Community College Social Science Association. Having had experience as editor of both the undergraduate weekly newspaper and the college yearbook and four years at the Boston Globe, he edited the newsletters of the NJ Social Science Association and the NJ Commission for Holocaust Education. With his late colleagues, Dr. Seymour Siegler and Dean Norma Klein, Professor Needle founded the Center for Holocaust Studies. He represented the Center at the founding meeting of the Association of Holocaust Organizations. Starting with about a dozen colleges, AHO represents more than 100 institutions internationally. Today the Center at Brookdale is known as Chhange. When Dean Klein of Community Services identified an adult social/educational need, Professor Needle originated Tour and Talk, a day bus trip program. The popular program began with visits to four local historical sites a semester. Within a few years, it grew to as much as 26 varied trips a semester, and serviced thousands of Monmouth County residents over the decades. During his tenure, Professor Needle, supported by the Office of Student Life, brought to the campus outstanding speakers, such as Henry Steele Commager, Arthur Schlesinger, Stephen Ambrose, Issac Asimov and many others. At his retirement, the History and Political Science Departments initiated the Jacob W. Needle Annual Lecture in History, which has featured Ken Burns, Elizabeth Clift, Jerry Izenberg and other luminaries. Born in Quincy MA, Jack was educated in the public-school system. Partly to overcome childhood polio, he engaged in sports. His modest skills were rewarded with championships along the way: in softball; AZA (Jewish youth fraternity), sectional; Red Bank Recreational (Fifers); BCC Intramural (Faculty); in basketball, YMCA Church League (two divisions), intramural H.S. (junior year); in tennis, BCC intramural singles and doubles, and coached RBRHS to the Shore Conference championship. Among his academic and professional awards are the New Jersey Senate resolution and commendation, U.S. House of Representatives Citation, Second Annual BCC Outstanding Faculty Award, Distinguished Service Award (ECCSSA), Hannah G. Solomon Award (Hadassah), A. Bodroshian Award, and several for citizenship from the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. He was a member of the Monmouth of the Monmouth Arts Foundation and active in the Democratic Clubs of Fair Haven and Shadow Lake Village. A member of Cong. B’nai Israel, Rumson, since the mid-50’s, he has been a teacher in its schools, chairman of the board of education, and most recently, a member of the Adult Education Committee. Jack has been pre-deceased by his parents, Jennie and Nathan Needle, sisters Helen Brick and Sophie Richmond, brothers Harry and Paul, and his granddaughter Erika Megin Needle. He is survived by his devoted wife Barbara, his daughter Marcia Listo and her husband Joe, their daughter Tessa Nicole and his son Jesse and his wife Rona Lissak. He expresses appreciation to family, friends, colleagues, students and all who have made the journey so rewarding and fulfilling. To those he failed, he expresses his sincere regrets. Donations in his memory can be made to Chhange at Brookdale Community College, Cong. B’nai Israel, Rumson or the March of Dimes.