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April 1, 2010
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 5, 2010 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Service will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 285 French Hill Road, Wayne. Burial will follow at the East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton.
Emil Popadics, age 92 of Wayne, died on Thursday, April 1, 2010. He was at home, with the comfort and caring of his family when he accepted the hand of his adoring God and joined his beloved wife Helen, who passed in 1996.
Emil was born on September 20, 1917 in Wallington, NJ. His parents, Nicholas and Helen, had emigrated to America from Sedlice, Austria-Hungary, now known as Slovakia, in April of 1912. He grew up in Lodi and graduated from the Garfield High School with the class of 1935. He then attended the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics in Newark and began working as an airplane mechanic.
In 1942 he joined the US Army and was assigned to the Air Corps. His aeronautical experience earned him the position of Aerial Engineer and Mechanic. He had experience working on P-40’s, P-47’s, B-24’s and B-17’s, just to name a few. He successfully completed twelve combat missions while serving in the European Theatre and earned himself the Air Medal and one Oak Leaf Cluster. He and his crew flew missions to resupply troops in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, in central Europe, Normandy, northern France, Rhineland, and the Rome-Arno Campaign. He was proud of his service and truly enjoyed the whole experience. He continued his love of airplanes even after the war, working for thirty-three years with United Airlines as a mechanic before retiring in 1978.
Upon returning from the War in 1945 he married his sweetheart Helen (nee Petrisak) and they first settled in Garfield before moving to Wayne in 1964. They enjoyed fifty-one years together before she passed away on October 21, 1996.
Emil was a lifelong and devout member of the St. John’s Russian Orthodox Church in Passaic where he had served as a trustee for the church for nearly forty years. More recently he had been attending services with his son, Joel, at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Wayne.
Emil was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and recently he became a great grandfather to Jack Popadics. He loved his family and enjoyed spending time with his three sons and their families. In particular, he loved helping his son, Ted, doing home improvement projects, going to Joel's art shows and visiting Mark in Boise, Idaho. He will be remembered for his quiet and gentle personality, his steadfast guidance and generous spirit. He always had a kind word to say and a helping hand to lend. For those who knew him, their lives were enriched by his example and the ways in which he lived his life. A finer man could not be found and he will be dearly missed.
Surviving are three devoted sons; Theodore and his wife Kathleen of Wayne, Mark and his wife Barbara of Boise, ID, and Joel and his wife Patricia of Wayne, two dear sisters; Mary Czap of Whiting, NJ and Eugenia Sedlar of Cherry Hill, NJ, eight grandchildren; Tanya and Kara Popadics of Wayne, Michael, Daniel and Jonathan Popadics of Boise, Idaho, Christine Johnson and her husband Ian of Minnesota, and Luke and Andrew Popadics of Wayne, and his nieces and nephews; Robert Zak of Charlottesville, Virginia, Rebecca Sedlar of Atlanta, Georgia, Richard Sedlar of Owing Mills, Maryland, Steven Michota of Clifton, NJ, Michelle Amaroso of Clifton, NJ, Danny Cahayla of Wanaque, NJ and Gregory Cahayla of Ringwood, NJ. In addition to his wife, Emil was predeceased by one sister; Helen Zak.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 5, 2010 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Service will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 285 French Hill Road, Wayne. Burial will follow at the East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton.
April 1, 2010
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 5, 2010 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Service will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 285 French Hill Road, Wayne. Burial will follow at the East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton.
Emil Popadics, age 92 of Wayne, died on Thursday, April 1, 2010. He was at home, with the comfort and caring of his family when he accepted the hand of his adoring God and joined his beloved wife Helen, who passed in 1996.
Emil was born on September 20, 1917 in Wallington, NJ. His parents, Nicholas and Helen, had emigrated to America from Sedlice, Austria-Hungary, now known as Slovakia, in April of 1912. He grew up in Lodi and graduated from the Garfield High School with the class of 1935. He then attended the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics in Newark and began working as an airplane mechanic.
In 1942 he joined the US Army and was assigned to the Air Corps. His aeronautical experience earned him the position of Aerial Engineer and Mechanic. He had experience working on P-40’s, P-47’s, B-24’s and B-17’s, just to name a few. He successfully completed twelve combat missions while serving in the European Theatre and earned himself the Air Medal and one Oak Leaf Cluster. He and his crew flew missions to resupply troops in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, in central Europe, Normandy, northern France, Rhineland, and the Rome-Arno Campaign. He was proud of his service and truly enjoyed the whole experience. He continued his love of airplanes even after the war, working for thirty-three years with United Airlines as a mechanic before retiring in 1978.
Upon returning from the War in 1945 he married his sweetheart Helen (nee Petrisak) and they first settled in Garfield before moving to Wayne in 1964. They enjoyed fifty-one years together before she passed away on October 21, 1996.
Emil was a lifelong and devout member of the St. John’s Russian Orthodox Church in Passaic where he had served as a trustee for the church for nearly forty years. More recently he had been attending services with his son, Joel, at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Wayne.
Emil was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and recently he became a great grandfather to Jack Popadics. He loved his family and enjoyed spending time with his three sons and their families. In particular, he loved helping his son, Ted, doing home improvement projects, going to Joel's art shows and visiting Mark in Boise, Idaho. He will be remembered for his quiet and gentle personality, his steadfast guidance and generous spirit. He always had a kind word to say and a helping hand to lend. For those who knew him, their lives were enriched by his example and the ways in which he lived his life. A finer man could not be found and he will be dearly missed.
Surviving are three devoted sons; Theodore and his wife Kathleen of Wayne, Mark and his wife Barbara of Boise, ID, and Joel and his wife Patricia of Wayne, two dear sisters; Mary Czap of Whiting, NJ and Eugenia Sedlar of Cherry Hill, NJ, eight grandchildren; Tanya and Kara Popadics of Wayne, Michael, Daniel and Jonathan Popadics of Boise, Idaho, Christine Johnson and her husband Ian of Minnesota, and Luke and Andrew Popadics of Wayne, and his nieces and nephews; Robert Zak of Charlottesville, Virginia, Rebecca Sedlar of Atlanta, Georgia, Richard Sedlar of Owing Mills, Maryland, Steven Michota of Clifton, NJ, Michelle Amaroso of Clifton, NJ, Danny Cahayla of Wanaque, NJ and Gregory Cahayla of Ringwood, NJ. In addition to his wife, Emil was predeceased by one sister; Helen Zak.
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