Raymond Bateman, Somerset County's public servant, has died

• Raymond Bateman was a lifelong Somerset County resident
• Besides serving the state in a variety of roles, he also was a newspaperman

Somerset County's elder statesman, former State Sen. Raymond, died Saturday morning after a lifetime of public service, according to a family statement.

The 88-year-old Bateman was a lifelong Somerset County resident, and served the local community and the state in many different capacities throughout a storied career.

A memorial service will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. July 9 at the Raritan Valley Community College Theatre in Branchburg. Memorial donations can be made to the North Branch Reformed Church, The Ray Bateman Student Center for Student Life and Leadership at RVCC, or the Pleasant Pond Protective Association.

Gov. Chris Christie called Bateman a "loyal representative of the people."

"He served our state as Majority Leader in the General Assembly, Senate President, Acting Governor, chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and as the Republican nominee for Governor in 1977," Christie said in a statement released this morning. "In all of those roles he exemplified honesty, integrity and dignity.

"He was a model public servant and an icon of the New Jersey Republican Party," Christie added.

“My father embodied everything that a public servant should be,” said Bateman's son, Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman, who serves the 16th legislative district. “He was always interested in helping others, and he instilled in me the belief that public service matters. He set an extremely high standard for all of us who follow.

“He also was dedicated to his family, and we always came first," he added. "His loss will be immense, but we couldn’t be prouder of the life he lived and happier about the time we had with him. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us.”

“Ray Bateman was one of the pre-eminent leaders of New Jersey in the second half of the Twentieth Century," said Rep, Leonard Lance (R-District 7).  "He was a legislator's legislator and his tremendous positive effect on the state is virtually incalculable.  His children, including State Senator Kip Bateman, and his grandchildren should be enormously proud of the life of this distinguished public servant.” 

"Ray  Bateman's passion for public policy and New Jersey never waned," said Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-District 16). "We've lost a true senior statesman and a New Jersey treasure. Ray will be sorely missed."

"It's a very sad day for all of us in Somerset County," said Ray Brown, executive director of the Somerset County Park Commission. "He was a father figure for many of us here."

READ: News from Somerset County

Born in Somerville, Bateman was a 1946 graduate of Somerville High School and Wesleyan University. He also attended the graduate program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.He served as executive director of the Republican State Committee 1954 to 1958, and entered the New Jersey General Assembly in November 1958. At the time he was the youngest member of the Assembly.

Bateman went on to serve as assistant majority leader in 1964 and majority leader in 1965. He was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1967 and was re-elected in 1971 and 1973. He served as assistant majority leader in 1968, majority leader in 1969, and Senate president from 1970 to 1972, serving as acting governor whenever Gov. Bill Cahill was out of state

.In 1977 Bateman won the Republican primary for governor over Thomas Kean Sr., but lost in the general election to incumbent Brendan Byrne.

Bateman sponsored the 1962 legislation that established New Jersey's county-based community college system, and served as the chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. 

After retiring from political life, Bateman devoted himself to Raritan Valley Community, which was literally in the backyard of his home in the North Branch section of Branchburg.

He was a member of the RVCC Board of Trustees since 1978 and served as chairman for 26 years. Some of the milestones of his tenure included the agreement with Hunterdon County that established RVCC as the first community college in New Jersey to serve two counties; the construction of the Theatre at RVCC with $2 million in private donations raised to match public funding; the expansion of the college library; the establishment of the first childcare center at a community college in New Jersey; the opening of the Planetarium; the opening of the Franklin Center; and the establishment of the Somerset County Police Academy on campus.

The Ray Bateman Center for Student Life and Leadership-sustainable facility designed for collaborative learning, leadership building and student activities- is named in his honor on the RVCC campus.

“Ray Bateman was a friend, a mentor and a visionary leader," said Dr. Paul J. Hirsch, a lifelong friend and fellow RVCC board member. "He devoted more than 40 years of his life to the success of Raritan Valley Community College and its students. As the driving force behind the law creating the community college system in New Jersey, he was committed to opening up access to higher education to all New Jersey residents regardless of their backgrounds or financial circumstances.

"He never wavered in his commitment to keeping community college tuition affordable while setting high academic standards," Hirsch added. "I was proud and honored to serve beside Ray for three decades on the Board of Trustees and to be inspired by his passion and commitment to providing our students with every available opportunity to succeed in school and in life. The Ray Bateman Center for Student Life and Leadership stands as a wonderful legacy to Ray’s lifetime of commitment to enriching lives through the power of education.”

READ and LOOK: The Class of 2016 at RVCC

READ: More about the college Raymond Bateman was so proud of

"Ray Bateman loved RVCC, said Robert Wise, president of the college board of trustees. "He could be seen on campus early in the morning walking on the track with his dog and late into the evening attending theatre performances, community events or student activities. It’s hard to imagine RVCC without Ray Bateman, but we are fortunate to have the Ray Bateman Center for Student Life and Leadership to remind us of his extraordinary service to the College and the state of New Jersey. The building stands as a tribute to a remarkable leader who spent a lifetime creating opportunities for students to grow, dream and succeed in life."

Bateman and his late brother Palmer were owners of Somerset Press, a Somerville that published the Somerset Messenger-Gazette, the Bound Brook Chronicle and several other weekly newspapers in Central Jersey. The company was sold in 1987 to Malcolm Forbes, one of Bateman's political mentors.

Bateman has written an opinion column for the Courier News and Home News Tribune for some two decades. He also wrote columns for the Somerset Messenger-Gazette and Forbes Newspapers.

READ: Some of Raymond Bateman past columns

In the 1960s, Bateman established Bateman & Associates,an advertising and public relations agency in Somerville until it was sold in 1977. In 1978, he started Public Affairs Consultants, a government advisory service for corporate and foundation management, where he continued to work for the remainder of his life..

Bateman's son has continued his father's public service tradition; first in the general assembly and currently as a state senator in the district serving parts of Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex counties.

"When it came to public service, Senator Ray Bateman was a giant," Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. said. "He was one of the people that I admired most growing up in a family that followed a similar path. He’s someone that many of us who serve now try to emulate.

“I would like to offer my deepest condolences to his family, and to his son, my friend Senator Kip Bateman, with whom I have the honor to serve,” he added.

“The state will miss his selfless service and his family will miss their patriarch," Christie said. "He is a great example of a life well lived. Mary Pat and I extend to the Bateman's, on behalf of all New Jerseyans who benefited from Senator Ray Bateman's service, our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time."

Respect for Bateman's dedication to serving the people of New Jersey crossed partisan divides. One of Christie's fiercest opponents, Jeff Tittel, executive director of the N.J. Sierra Club, praised Bateman's record as an environmentalist.

"Ray Bateman was a true conservationist and environmental champion, " Tittel said. "As a state senator he had a stellar environmental record and supported clean air, clean water and open space. He sponsored or co-sponsored many of the early important environmental bills from Green Acres to setting up the Department of Environmental Protection. The senator sponsored the legislation to set up the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission and State Park creating a 60-mile park and protecting the drinking water for over a million  people. This was landmark legislation and was a model for the Pinelands Protection Act. I worked with him when he was at the Sports Authority  when he opposed the Xanadu mega mall and worked with him on toxic  cleanups .He was a friend and some one that will be  missed.

"When you  take a bike ride along the D & R Canal State Park enjoy the beauty that is his legacy," Tittel said.

He was predeceased by his wife Joan; his son, Raymond Jr.; and his daughter, Robin. He is survived by his daughter Caren Bateman, Christopher “Kip” Bateman, Michael Bateman and Joananne Coffaro, their spouses, as well as 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his friend and companion, Nancy Maulding.