Thomas Wray and Ellen Mitro
From left to right: Catherine Biancone, Cynthia Church, Joseph Sabatini, Sandra Wray, Ellen Mitro, Thomas Wray, and Alexander Rubenstein, Byram Township Mayor.
On Tuesday, May 17, the Byram Senior Citizen Club hosted their annual Senior of the Year Luncheon at the Farmstead Golf and Country Club (88 Lawrence Road, Lafayette). Two Byram seniors, Ellen Mitro and Thomas Wray, were awarded a plaque and recognized by their peers and members of the town.
Ellen Mitro
Ellen was born and raised in Clifton, NJ, and graduated from nursing school in 1964. She married her husband John in 1966 and in 1968 they moved to Byram Township. There they raised four children while Ellen continued her job as a registered nurse in Hackettstown Hospital. They became members of St. Michael’s R.C. Church where Ellen began volunteering. She was a “room mom” in the school for many years, taught CCD classes and enjoyed being a leader for the brownie and girl scout troops. In addition, Ellen conducted seminars on drug prevention for high school students.
After retiring in 2012, Ellen joined the Byram Senior Citizens’ Club, continuing her volunteer spirit. She assisted on the Kitchen Committee and served for six years as recording secretary. Ellen is currently the first vice president and is on the Entertainment Committee. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crocheting, doing puzzles, and keeping up with her nine grandchildren’s activities.
“Ellen’s accomplishments and generous spirit to do whatever needs to be done are reasons why The Byram Senior Citizens’ Club takes pride in presenting Ellen Mitro with its Senior of the Year Award for 2022,” the organizers said.
Thomas Wray
Tom was born and raised in Queens, NY. He served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and was sent to Vietnam from 1966 to 1967. Tom and his wife became summer residents of Cranberry Lake, Byram Township, in 1971 and joined the Cranberry Lake Community Club (CLCC). After 35 years as a carpenter and installer for commercial overhead garage doors, he retired and with his wife became a full-time resident of Cranberry Lake in 2004.
Tom volunteered in different capacities for the CLCC, including using his boat to pull skiers for the Ski Team. In addition, he helped with the docks and different projects around the lake and was honored as Volunteer of the Year in 2011. In 2007, he and his wife, Sandra, joined the Byram Senior Citizens’ Club and since then has always helped wherever necessary, mostly behind the scenes.
As some members put it, “Tom has always been one of the first to step up to do the work and the last to leave doing things that no one else wants to do.”
“Tom’s generous spirit and tireless efforts helping wherever needed are reasons why the Byram Senior Citizens’ Club takes pride in presenting Thomas Wray with its Senior of the Year Award for 2022,” the organizers said.
