John Fitzgerald Day’s name is synonymous with Trenton, NJ. Never has anyone had more love and compassion for his hometown than this Trenton native. Born December 28, 1964, he lost his mother at the age of 5 due to domestic violence. His maternal grandmother and grandfather took him and his younger brother in and raised them. His grandmother took him by his hand and reassured him with these words, “We aren’t going to let this define you. GOD has plans for your life.”

 

He attended Jefferson Elementary, Junior One and he received his high school diploma from Trenton Central High School in 1983. John who took on a childhood name, Cheese, became a popular football star under the disciplined guidance of Coach Quinn. He took John under his wing and pushed him with hard love to become the man that he is today.

 

John became a teenaged father in his Junior year of high school – but he did not let that deter him from pursuing his dream of going away to college. After a short bout at Chowan College of North Carolina, he left due to what he felt was a racially biased Coach. He applied to Grambling State University and was accepted. Determined to play football, he tried out for the team once he got there. Hard work and determination got the attention of the coach and he earned a spot on the Grambling State University Football Team playing under the Legendary Eddie Robinson. John graduated and took his degree home to serve in his community.

 

Checking off another goal which was to become a NJ State Trooper, John passed the test and served for 27 years. He encountered a bump in the road when he got into an altercation with the Trenton Police which made National news. Al Sharpton came to his side because it was racially driven. He lost the battle but won the war when he retired as Lieutenant, June 1, 2015. His record speaks for itself. He has led the groundbreaking Task Force in Central Jersey and he led the unit which named the “Crime Suppression Task Force” in Trenton. He’s worked as an undercover detective as well and received numerous awards along with an accommodation from the Governor of Maryland for his work assisting with the Freddie Gray Riots in Baltimore. Although John Day is retired, he continues to serve his community by working at Campbell Funeral Chapel in Trenton, NJ. He resides in Central NJ with his wife and children.