Chaplain - John Hernandez

Hernandez always wanted to be a Marine. While at St. John's he applied for the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) and was rejected due to height. Upset but not discouraged he wrote to President Lyndon Johnson for a waiver which was denied. Hernandez was 5 ft 3.5 inches and for the Marine Officer Program had to be 5 ft 6 inches. Hernandez then tried to join the Reserves and again was rejected as the height requirement was 5-4. He wrote to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and requested a half inch weaver which was granted. That made him the happiest man is Corona. Less than a week after graduation from College Hernandez was in Boot Camp learning about yellow footprints and life beyond the bodega and the halls of academia. After Parris Island he went to Camp Geiger where he learned to fire a flame thrower. Back home Hernandez was assigned to H & S Company a reserve unit in Garden City Long Island New York. His only call up was for three days during the Postal Strike which resulted in reducing his six year commitment to five. He was honorably discharged a corporal. It may be water under the bridge but in retrospect Hernandez always felt he should have re-enlisted and not doing so was one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Only God knows the consequences of that decision.

His professional career was basically in Human Resources & Labor Relations mostly in a Health Care environment. He retired after 20 years with the New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. He also worked at St. Claire's Hospital during 911 and ended his career at Columbia University Medical Center in his old Washington Heights neighborhood. He was on the Board of Trustees of Francis Schervier Home & Hospital, Bronx, NY from 1981 to 1985. Hernandez served his Closter community as president of the Board of Health (1984-85) and is currently on the Ethics Board. He was a volunteer firefighter with the Knickerbocker Hook & Ladder Co from 1975 to 1985 serving on the Fire Prevention Bureau, member of the Board of Governors, and Secretary. He was President of the Closter Republican Club (1985) and for many years the Spanish Interpreter for several Municipal Courts in Bergen County.

Hernandez met Midas D'Ribeaux in 1961 while she shopped in the bodega and they married in 1970. They moved to Closter New Jersey in 1973 where they raised their sons, John and Jason. Both sons wrestled at a young age and with them he formed Team Spyder Wrestling Club. They ran many tournaments and Team Spyder would take an annual bus trip to Florida to improve their wrestling skills. Both sons went to Bergen Catholic High School and Hernandez immediately organized the parents into The Crusader Takedown Club (CTC) which supported the school's wrestling program with funds and labor. Bergen Catholic is one of the premier high school wrestling teams in New Jersey. For his efforts as Founder and President he was inducted into the school's Wrestling Wall of Fame on November 13, 2006. But Hernandez did not just limit his efforts to wrestling as he also volunteered and supported the Football Team. For over thirty years he has been selling Fifty-Fifty Raffle tickets at all the home games. Hernandez received the Mc Govern Award (May 7, 2000) for his continuing effort on behalf of the Football Program. He also served from 2000 to 2009 on the school's Board of Directors. Hernandez is a devout pro-life Roman Catholic and attends daily Mass at the Church of Saint Mary in Closter. He is and has been a Trustee for many years. He is a member of the Men's Cornerstone which meets bi-weekly to discuss religious issues. Hernandez is the Grand Knight (GK) of the Knights of Columbus Queen of Peace Council #3679 which covers the parishes in Closter and Demarest. In 2016 he received the Father McGivney Award in recognition of outstanding membership recruitment and retention results. His reelection for a sixth year in 2020 makes him the longest serving GK in the Council which was chartered in 1953. Hernandez is also a Fourth Degree member and Sir Knight in the Msgr Charles G. McCorristin Assembly. The Fourth Degree is known as the Patriotic Degree.

Hernandez love is for his wife Midas whom he has know for over sixty years and been married for fifty. His other loves are his five grandchildren who he adores but does not see enough. A typical grandfather lament. He loves the NY Yankees and the Giants and all the New York/New Jersey Teams but refuses to watch any games in which players take a knee during the National Anthem. Hernandez has another passion. He has erected over 164 American flags in his community and cares for them as if they were his children. He does frequent Flag Patrols with an eight foot pole to disentangle those that have knotted and replace those that are torn. He loves American History and belongs to Roundtables that study both the American Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Many know him as the two dollar man. He enjoys giving two dollar bills to waiters, children, altar servers, DPW and anyone who has never seen one. He enjoys reading the daily comics, doing the crossword puzzle and playing chess with his friend John Russo. Hernandez joined the Gooney Bird Detachment (MCL) in December 2016. He was appointed Chaplain in June 2018 and continues to serve in that capacity. As Sr. Vice he received The Commandant's Award in 2020. Hernandez was elected Commandant in November 2020 and Installed via Zoom in December.