Former Boonton mayor, current councilman, Cy Wekilsky dies

Boonton Councilman and former Mayor Cyril "Cy" Wekilsky, who wore the town "on his sleeve" during four decades of public service and more than 50 years of volunteer work, has died. He was 89.

"Mayor Cy," as many still called him, had been in ill health since suffering a stroke on Father's Day in 2024. But he recovered and was back to serving his Ward One constituents, attending the council's meeting in June but missing a special meeting on July 10.

His son, Erick Wekilsky, said his father died on the evening of July 13 at St. Clare's Hospital in Denville.

"People would ask him after all these years, why are you still doing this," Erick said. "His response was always the same: 'I'd rather be part of the solution than the problem.' "

First elected to the Boonton Board of Alderman in 1988, he later served 10 years as mayor from 2006 to 2015. Elected back to the renamed Boonton Council, he was still in office, serving a term that expires at the end of the year when he died.

Wekilsky also served on the Boonton Board of Education before his election to the town's governing body.

Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, a Boonton resident who started his career walking a beat in his hometown, praised Welilsky as "a dedicated public servant who tirelessly put Boonton first."

"His intelligence, hard work, and commitment to the community were evident throughout his service," Gannon said. "I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.”

State Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, another Boonton native, said Wekilsky "represented all that is right in public service at the local level. A true gentleman, who wore Boonton on his sleeve."

News of his passing first appeared in social media posts by the Boonton Republican Committee, which wrote "Cy, Thank you for your decades of service to Boonton and its residents. We are a better town because of you."

Boonton Democrats also shared their condolences on social media, posting "For many years, Cy answered the call to public service. ...His time in local government reflected a longstanding commitment to the civic life of our community."

Council President Ben Weisman, a Democrat, said they "didn't always land on the same side of an issue, but Cy showed that respect and disagreement can live in the same room. Boonton is better for the example he set."

Wekilsky, born as Krum Cyril Wekilsky, was an Iranian expatriate of Bulgarian and Russian heritage who met his wife, Gunvor Synnove (Haland) Wekilsky, in Germany. They later married in her native Norway in 1962, and emigrated to the United States the next year. Gunvor Wekilsky died in 2020.

His volunteer service goes back even further than his time in elected office, which began with the school board in 1980. Starting in 1973, he served as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts, Little League baseball and the Boonton Grayhawks youth football program. He also served as the Boonton Fire Commissioner.

Current Mayor Jim Lynch, who served under three mayors since his election to the alderman board and later council in 2014, said he learned something from all of his predecessors.

"From Cy, I learned patience and I learned kindness," Lynch said. "We're all better because of him."

Services are still being finalized at the Codey-Mackey funeral home in Boonton, but Erick Wekilsky said to expect a viewing there on July 24, followed by services the next day at the Boonton United Methodist Church.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Former Boonton mayor, current councilman, Cy Wekilsky dies