Stephen M. Sinker

Stephen M. Sinker, 79, of Barnegat, NJ, passed on Monday, June 15, 2020.

 Acts 6:5 introduces a faithful man of God named Stephen: “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.”

Stephen absolutely lived his life in this manner. He was a faithful servant of God and of the church throughout his life, serving his family, his church, and his fellow human beings - with honor, integrity and the highest strength of character.  

Stephen put himself through college and earned two degrees from Rutgers University while married, raising a child and working full time, and earned two degrees - a Bachelors in Chemistry and a Masters degree in Organic Chemistry. In his professional career, Stephen concentrated on production, process, and application development of thermoplastic materials as well as failure analysis, training, and standards development. Stephen worked as a Product Technical Specialist and Chemist for the Ticona Division of Celanese after his time as a chemist for the Permacel Division of Johnson & Johnson.

After his early retirement from Hoechst-Celanese, Stephen created and was a consultant through SMS Innovations, LLC and was known worldwide for his expertise in his field. He was honored by a 2005 ASTM International Award of Merit and the accompanying title of fellow; the award is the highest Society recognition for individual contributions to standards activities. The ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics cited Stephen for dedicated participation in and technical contributions to standards initiatives in D20, for continuous service to the committee in a leadership capacity as section, subcommittee and main committee officer, and for effective interface between D20 and Technical Committee 61 on Plastics of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

An ASTM International member since 1986, Stephen served as chair of Subcommittee D20.09 on Specimen Preparation and of D20.61, US TAG ISO/TC-61 on Plastics, as well as on many other D20 standards development groups. A major contributor to several standards, Stephen had advanced standards for plastics specimen preparation and acetal plastics, and he had promoted coordination of global plastics standards.

 Stephen was a member of the American Chemical Society and the Society of Plastics Engineers. He had been active in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Whitehouse Station, NJ as well as his recent parish of St. Mary's in Barnegat, NJ. 

Stephen and his late wife, Keron, traveled around the world for many years. He then dedicated many years to the care of his wife during her illness. After Keron passed, Stephen became an active and faithful volunteer with Ken's Kitchen at St. Mary's Parish in Barnegat, while still maintaining a battle with his own illness. He contributed to many organizations, as well as the education of his daughter and 3 grandchildren. He loved playing golf until his health prevented him from doing so.

Stephen was passionate about higher education. He firmly believed that hard work, perseverance and higher education led to success and the ability to create independence and opportunity for oneself. 

Stephen is survived by his daughter, Katherine Lee Stobb and son-in-law Anthony M. Stobb of Fort Myers, FL, three grandchildren, Dallas Stobb of Chicago, IL, Montgomery Stobb of Fort Myers, FL and Kylee Stobb of Windermere, FL. He is also survived by his 4 siblings, John Sinker, Jeanne Cunningham, David Sinker, and Anthony Sinker.

Viewing Sunday, June 21, 2020 from 2 to 5 PM at Barnegat Funeral Home, 841 W. Bay Ave., Barnegat. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered 11 AM Monday at St. Mary of The Pines Church, Manahawkin, NJ. Interment will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Manahawkin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Stephen's name to any of the following:

Rutgers University: https://support.rutgers.edu/

St. Mary's Parish: https://stmarybarnegat.com/home/giving

Atlantic City Rescue Mission: https://www.acrescuemission.org/DonateNow

St. Jude's Cancer Research: https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_dcm=254910857&sc_cid=kwp70587&source_code=IIQ181010008&s_kwcid=AL!4519!3!393884530727!e!!g!!st%20judes&sc_dcm=254910857&sc_cid=kwp75473&source_code=IIQ190721002&gclid=CjwKCAjw_qb3BRAVEiwAvwq6Vl2T_3UmcWLHB0xrtRc3IWTkfslsDFn_siN17ktT57PrXUmD_yuZoRoCiMAQAvD_BwE

Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties: https://fulfillnj.org/ways-to-help/#donate-funds

Save Ellis Island: https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/40e93f7c-a9c6-4662-af97-c3a79bd701ca

Our Lady of Light Parish: https://ourladyoflight.weshareonline.org/

Hope Hospice of Lee County: https://www.hopehospice.org/donate/

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