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August 6, 2011
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 from 5-7:30 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A funeral service will be held at 7:30 PM following the visitation hours.
Hans J. Wilbert age 89 of Wayne died Saturday, August 6, 2011.
He was born and raised in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. His family had to leave their home as it was struck by a bomb during WWII. They temporarily moved to lived with family in Bockenau, Germany during the rebuilding of their home; this is when Hans met Johanna Metzler at a bus stop. They both took the same bus to work and Johanna sat next to Hans so she could talk to the two girls seated in front of him. She never did get to speak to those girls as she and Hans talked the entire ride. He later invited her to hear him play the violin, as he was an accomplished violinist. They married on May 24, 1952 in Bad Kreuznach and honeymooned in Bavaria.
Hans entered a German Flight School and was captured by the Allied Forces before ever getting to fly. He was sent to a Prisoner of War camp in France where he was put to work in the coal mines from 1945 through 1949. After his release he returned to Bad Kreuznach, Germany and took a job at the Seitz Werke Bottle Filling Equipment Manufacturing Company where he worked from 1949 through 1952. In 1954 Hans and Johanna came to America and settled in Brooklyn, NY. Hans got a job with an architectural metal fabrication company, JW Fiske Corporation, where he made and designed entryways, revolving doorways, custom stair railings and other decorative architectural features for many New York City buildings including Godiva Chocolate, IBM and many other notable companies. Eventually the company moved from Brooklyn, NY to Paterson, NJ. Hans and Johanna followed the company move and bought a home in Wayne. Hans worked there for over thirty years before retiring in 1986.
He was the loving husband of Johanna (Metzler) Wilbert; devoted father of Linda Sopko and her husband John of Wall Township, and Susan Phelan and her husband Chris of Wayne; cherished grandfather of Brian Phelan, Jake Sopko, Kevin Phelan and Maxxi Sopko; he was the much loved brother of Wilma Fleckenstein of Coconut Creek, FL.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 375 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 from 5-7:30 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A funeral service will be held at 7:30 PM following the visitation hours.
August 6, 2011
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 from 5-7:30 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A funeral service will be held at 7:30 PM following the visitation hours.
Hans J. Wilbert age 89 of Wayne died Saturday, August 6, 2011.
He was born and raised in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. His family had to leave their home as it was struck by a bomb during WWII. They temporarily moved to lived with family in Bockenau, Germany during the rebuilding of their home; this is when Hans met Johanna Metzler at a bus stop. They both took the same bus to work and Johanna sat next to Hans so she could talk to the two girls seated in front of him. She never did get to speak to those girls as she and Hans talked the entire ride. He later invited her to hear him play the violin, as he was an accomplished violinist. They married on May 24, 1952 in Bad Kreuznach and honeymooned in Bavaria.
Hans entered a German Flight School and was captured by the Allied Forces before ever getting to fly. He was sent to a Prisoner of War camp in France where he was put to work in the coal mines from 1945 through 1949. After his release he returned to Bad Kreuznach, Germany and took a job at the Seitz Werke Bottle Filling Equipment Manufacturing Company where he worked from 1949 through 1952. In 1954 Hans and Johanna came to America and settled in Brooklyn, NY. Hans got a job with an architectural metal fabrication company, JW Fiske Corporation, where he made and designed entryways, revolving doorways, custom stair railings and other decorative architectural features for many New York City buildings including Godiva Chocolate, IBM and many other notable companies. Eventually the company moved from Brooklyn, NY to Paterson, NJ. Hans and Johanna followed the company move and bought a home in Wayne. Hans worked there for over thirty years before retiring in 1986.
He was the loving husband of Johanna (Metzler) Wilbert; devoted father of Linda Sopko and her husband John of Wall Township, and Susan Phelan and her husband Chris of Wayne; cherished grandfather of Brian Phelan, Jake Sopko, Kevin Phelan and Maxxi Sopko; he was the much loved brother of Wilma Fleckenstein of Coconut Creek, FL.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 375 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
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