NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — Hundreds of people are expected to attend New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver’s funeral.
The memorial service for Lieutenant Governor Oliver will be taking place at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in New Jersey at 10 a.m.
Members of the public are invited to say their final farewells, and the Honor Guard of the New Jersey State Police will escort Oliver to the service.
“Sheila Oliver is grace and strength,” said Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake (D-34th District). “The world is missing a great advocate, a great legislator, a great friend, a great friend, and to her family, a great aunt and daughter.”
The first Black woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the General Assembly, Oliver helped pave the way for Black and Brown women to serve in office.
“It is with incredible sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of the Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Jersey. She was not only a distinguished public servant but also our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero,” Oliver’s family said in a statement.
Murphy’s office announced on July 31 that Oliver was hospitalized while filling in for Murphy, who was in Italy on a family vacation. She was admitted to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston with an undisclosed medical condition, the governor’s office said, declining to elaborate.
