Donald J. Skorton

Donald J. Skorton, age 85 of Wayne, died on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018.

Raised in Bloomfield, Don graduated from Bloomfield High School with the class of 1951.  He started working in the printing and paper industry, and he remained in that industry throughout his entire career.  He worked for Hy Grade Printing in Caldwell, as well as other printers in New York City, Edison, and throughout the area.  Don saw the writing on the wall as the printing industry began to shrink during the 1980’s, and he retired in 1988 from Haven Business Forms in Edison, NJ.

Don was a talented and skilled artist who preferred to work with charcoal and oil.  He could fix anything around the house, including cars.  A “chronic putterer,” Don was always doing something in the basement.  He just had to keep himself busy.  He was also an avid reader of mystery novels, political books, and biographies.  He loved to dance and wouldn’t quit until his knees gave out!

Don met his wife Natalie (Heaphy) on a bus trip to Lake Placid, sponsored by Wayne Township.  On the return bus trip, there was a terrible snow storm that brought all traffic to a halt.  They spent hours talking to each other on that bus, and their relationship only got better from that day forward.  Don proposed around Thanksgiving later that year, and they were married on November 29, 1968 at the First Reformed Church in Wayne.  Their wedding reception dinner was held onboard a cruise ship in the New York Harbor, and the next day they set sail for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for their honeymoon.  Thus began fifty years together with many vacations to their favorite destination; Williamsburg, Virginia.  They had a time-share there and used it often, sometimes three times per year!  They loved the history, the location, and the restaurants there.  Natalie will surely treasure those memories that they made together in Williamsburg, and throughout all the years of their marriage.

Don is survived by his loving wife Natalie of Wayne, by three daughters; Donna Loblein and her husband John of Toms River, Linda Jones and her husband Joseph of Clemons, NC, Susan Capron and her husband Paul of Toms River, NJ, one son; Jim Skorton of South Carolina, two step-sons; Jim Lindsay of Wayne, and Bob Lindsay and his wife Bernadette of Wayne, as well as fifteen grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.  He was predeceased by his son Bill Skorton, a brother; Robert Skorton, and by his sister; Dorothy Mackay.

Friends wishing to make a donation in Don’s memory are asked to consider the Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad, PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474, www.waynefas.com