Alois Habjan passed into eternal life with God on Tuesday October 23, 2012 at the age of 85 while on vacation in Florida. He died peacefully in his sleep.

Alois, who was known to all as Al, was always known for and will be remembered as a cheerful, relentlessly optimistic man, and his life was characterized by a quiet confidence and positivity that could not be shaken. Al always subscribed to the belief that a person could do anything if one set his or her mind to it, and that determination was prevalent throughout his long, rich and full life.

He was born in 1927 in a small town in the former Yugoslavia named Dob, and he would often regale friends and family with stories of his happy and loving childhood. He was the fourth of six children, and grew up on a farm operated by his parents. Even though his life would carry him a great distance from his birthplace, both in terms of physical distance and life experience, he always looked back warmly and fondly on those early years with his parents, brothers and sisters, and extended family and friends.

At the age of sixteen, still a very young man, he joined the Yugoslav partisans which had been organized to combat the Nazis which had occupied Yugoslavia; during those difficult years, he was separated from his family and lost many friends in combat, some before his very eyes. After World War II ended, he returned to his family to re-establish his former life. A few years later, he entered the field of hotel management in Austria before emigrating to the United States in 1956. He settled in New York City, and one of his first jobs was as a maitre d’ hotel and wine sommelier at the Golden Door at John F. Kennedy Airport. He would subsequently hold positions as a banquet manager at the Riverboat Club at the Empire State Building in Manhattan, the Manor in West Orange, New Jersey and the Holiday Inn in Hudson County, New Jersey. A couple of years after settling in New York, he met Rina Calosi, and after a year of courtship, they were married in December, 1959 at Saint Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in New York City. Al and Rina were married for almost 53 years before his passing, and during their marriage would have and raise two children, a son, Al, and a daughter, Maria. In 1968, Al and his family would move to Wayne, New Jersey, where they would reside for many years. While known during his working years as a consummate professional and for being dedicated to his career, Al was an active and engaged husband and father as well. In spite of his career which demanded long hours at work, Al was a devoted, loving man who enjoyed quality time with his wife and children. He would often say with both pride and modesty “I’m so very proud of the way my kids turned out, and most of the credit for that has to go to my wife.” He will be remembered by his family as a generous provider who always put the needs of his family first, and who would never refuse a request for help.

After retiring in his early sixties, Al enjoyed traveling, and often ventured back to his home in Slovenia, which was part of the former Yugoslavia. As time passed, those visits home were at times bittersweet, as the years would inevitably result in family members and friends becoming ill or passing away. Nonetheless, Al would always retain that twinkle in his eye, and a zest and vitality, which would seem to characterize a man many years younger. Al is survived by his wife Rina, his son Al of Rockaway Township, and his daughter Maria Pepple and her husband Darin of Wayne, and their two sons, Derek and Nicholas, as well as an older brother, Vinko. Al cherished the role of grandfather, and enjoyed being a grandpa who could be counted on to spoil his grandchildren whenever the opportunity arose. His family, friends and all who knew him will remember him as a proud, strong and caring man, who will be genuinely and deeply missed.