Marco F. Cera, a social studies teacher who climbed the ranks of public education to lead a Franklin Lakes middle-school as principal, died on Friday. He was 39.
Marco F. Cera
The cause was malignant mesothelioma, said his father, Anthony Cera.
Mr. Cera, of Boonton, leaves behind his wife of 11 years, Danielle, and their two daughters, Gabriella, 9 and Nina, 7. He is also survived by his brother, Christopher, also of Boonton, and his parents, Anthony and Corinne, of Kinnelon.
The educator will be mourned by those whose lives he touched as a teacher at Pompton Lakes High School and then as the principal of Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes.
On Saturday evening, a makeshift memorial to Mr. Cera appeared at the electronic sign in front of Franklin Avenue Middle School. A big white teddy bear with three blue Mylar balloons said, "Thinking of you." There were bouquets and vases of flowers and a pot of yellow daisies.
In Franklin Lakes, Mr. Cera was honored by Superintendent Frank Romano after he rushed aboard a wayward school bus that had jumped a curb outside a school. The driver had left his seat to face the students in an attempt to quiet them. Mr. Cera applied the brake before anyone was hurt.
Mr. Cera worked in Franklin Lakes for two years before leaving in 2010 to become principal at Briarcliff Middle School in Mountain Lakes. He said that working in Mountain Lakes, which is near Boonton, allowed him a greater opportunity to balance his career with his personal life.
Last August, his mesothelioma was diagnosed. The cancer of the lung lining is associated with asbestos exposure and is "virtually incurable," his father said.
"He faced it heroically," Anthony Cera said. "He thought he could beat it, and he operated that way, even though he was wasting away, even until he died. He thanked us all, told us what a wonderful family he had."
Growing up in Kinnelon, he was "a bright and cheerful little boy," his father said.
