| Ex-Hasbrouck Heights man killed
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 BY JASON TSAI STAFF WRITER A former Hasbrouck Heights man who graduated from William Paterson University was killed when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by an SUV in South Florida where he was a police officer, authorities said Tuesday. Michael T. McQuade, 36, will be buried Friday at the South Florida VA National Cemetery – one week after the fatal crash occurred in Coconut Creek, Fla., said Efrain Suarez, a spokesman for the Margate Police Department. McQuade, who had been a Margate police officer for the last 4 1/2 years, was wearing a helmet when the accident occurred shortly before noon last Friday, Suarez said. He was off-duty. Police in Coconut Creek, which neighbors Margate, continued to investigate the crash Tuesday. The driver of the sports utility vehicle was uninjured, police said. McQuade, a native of South Korea, was four when he was adopted and brought to Bergen County in 1976, said his sister, Mary Voorhees. He graduated from Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington and earned a bachelor's degree in education from William Paterson University in Wayne before joining the U.S. Marine Corps, Voorhees said. He grew to love tropical weather while stationed in Hawaii and in 2002 decided to begin his law enforcement career in Margate, about 30 minutes from Fort Lauderdale, his sister said. He earned numerous honors at Margate, including two Officer of the Month awards and, in 2004, a distinctive Administrative Excellence Commendation for overseeing an overhaul of the department's weapons roster, Suarez said. "He was mature beyond his years and sensitive," said his older brother, Kevin, 38. "And was an opera aficionado. He loved Pavarotti." Scott Voorhees, McQuade's brother-in-law, described him as "a natural-born leader with a great sense of humor." He is survived by his wife, Melissa, and by his parents, Thomas and Anne McQuade, former Hasbrouck Heights residents now living in Florida. Michael T. McQuade, 36, will be buried Friday at the South Florida VA National Cemetery. |
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| Our prayers and thoughts go out to the McQuade family. Tom and Anne lost their beloved son Michael in June, 2008. |
| Notes of condolences may be sent to: Anne & Thomas McQuade 401 SW158 Terrace Unit 104 Pembroke Pines, FL 33027 |