Stephen Bradford Wiley, born on June 21, 1929 and passed away October 8, 2015.
Stephen was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1973 to 1978, where he represented Morris County.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New Jersey in the 1985 Democratic primary election.
Stephen was born on June 21, 1929 in Morristown to Katharine (née Pellett) and J. Burton Wiley and attended Morristown High School, graduating in 1947.
His father had been the district’s superintendent of schools.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1951 and was awarded a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1954, before going on to serve in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956.
After completing his military service, Stephen was named in 1957 to serve as Assistant Prosecutor for Morris County.
He was named in 1960 as legal counsel to Governor of New Jersey Robert B. Meyner.
A resident of Morris Township, Stephen was a practicing attorney, specializing in litigation in federal and state courts.
After Meyner left office in 1962, he and Stephen formed a law practice. As of 1973, Stephen joined the firm of Wiley, Malehorn and Sirota in Morristown.
Following his Senate defeat, he founded a second law firm named Wiley, Malehorn, Sirota and Raynes, Morris Cablevision, the county’s first cable television company, and the First Morris Bank and Trust.
He also founded the Morris County United Way and raised money for the restoration of what is now the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
At the age of 70, Stephen started writing poetry.
He and his wife Judy sold their Morris County home in 2012 and moved full-time to South Hero, Vermont on Lake Champlain; they later moved to nearby Shelburne, Vermont.
Stephen died October 8, 2015 in Shelburne at the age of 86.