Mr. Jake Tarr Obituary

Mr. Jake Tarr attended Hamilton East-steinert High School in Hamilton, NJ. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Mr. Jake Tarr.

Graduation Year	Class of 1976
Date of Passing	Dec 17, 2010
About	Jake Tarr HAMILTON - Jake Tarr died peacefully with his wife of 43 years, Elaine, and his brother-in-law, Tom Scorsolini, at his beside, in the morning on Friday, Dec. 17, at Hamilton Continuing Care Center. Born in Trenton on Feb. 17, 1932, he was 78 years old. The son of Eleanor and John Tarr of Hamilton, both deceased, he leaves behind his wife, Elaine, and daughter, Becky; brother, Ron, and sister-in-law, Helen Tarr; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tom and Cindy Scorsolini, and nieces and nephews, Valerie, Jeffrey, and Jennifer Tarr and Lisa, David, and Mark Scorsolini. A lifetime area resident, Jake graduated from Hamilton High West and Duke University. He served honorably in the United States Army and Army Reserve from 1954 to 1962, actively serving in Germany from 1954 to 56. He later played minor league baseball in the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City A's organizations in Paris, TX; Duluth, SD, and New Brunswick, Canada. Jake was a star three-letter athlete. As a high school student at Hamilton West in the late 1940s, he played his way to All-City recognition in soccer, baseball, and basketball, reaching All-State in basketball and baseball. He twice played in the College World Series in Omaha as a catcher for Duke University and earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition in baseball and soccer. A player-manager for the 39th Infantry Regiment "Falcons" while stationed in Germany, he helped pitch, catch, hit, and coach his team to victory in the U.S. Army European (USAREUR) championship series, twice winning the USAREUR GI World Series in 1955 and 1956, landing them spots in the All-Army tournaments. Jake was a teacher from 1960 to 1992 at Steinert and Nottingham High Schools. A notorious and inscrutable showman, he acted in faculty and student plays, taught driver's education, and was a pillar of the Spartans athletics community as a coach for over two decades. He coached Steinert soccer, basketball, and baseball teams in the 1960s and 1970s, leading standouts such as the 1972-73 Central Jersey Group IV Spartan basketball champions. As a player and coach, Jake was inducted into both the Hamilton High West and Steinert High School Athletic Halls of Fame. Among his proudest accomplishments in baseball, he once hit for the cycle and grounded into a triple play in the same game while playing for Duke University. In basketball, he took delight in demonstrating his ability to consistently shoot consecutive foul shots without missing, once making over 400 shots. And as a gaming enthusiast, he prided himself in not surrendering more to the game of craps than the odds would allow. For this, he even kept records to prove it. In addition to his love and passion for sports, Jake also enjoyed and experienced diverse activities, including movies and plays, movie and sports trivia, entertaining as both roastmaster and roaster for special occasions and honorees, and acting in community theatre, in which one of his favorite and most memorable roles was Oscar Madison in the Odd Couple. A leader of champions, Jake was known for his uncompromising integrity, acerbic wit, and inimitable style and character. When not competing, he volunteered modestly for unassuming causes such as Meals on Wheels, and in his later years, frequently visited residents at area nursing homes, before sadly, serious illness and injury required that he move to one. Jake was an inspirational mentor to many of his student athletes, a devoted father to his daughter Becky, a committed husband to his wife Elaine, and a real pain in the arse to everyone else. Invincible with a joke, he would not yield even if it was at your expense. Above all, Jake valued relationships with people. He deeply appreciated the many students, teammates, opponents, and friends with whom he shared his life and experiences. And he was especially strong for his family, right down through to his nuclear core for Elaine and Becky. He will be painfully missed by all who were lucky enough to know and love him. The funeral will be at 8 a.m. on Tuesday from Knott's Colonial Funeral Home, 2946 South Broad St., Hamilton. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Gregory the Great, 4620 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square. Interment will be in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call on Monday from 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made in his memory to the Coalition for Brain Injury Research, 270 Hazel St., Clifton, NJ 07011, or the Brain Trauma Foundation, 7 World Trade Center, 34th Floor, 250 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10007.