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January 21, 2009
Services
Funeral services will be held 10 AM on Saturday, January 24, 2008 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. Friends may visit with the family on Friday from 2-4, 7-9 PM at the funeral home. Interment will be in East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to VFW District 4 Blood Bank, 4 Courter Avenue, Maplewood, NJ 07040-2715.
John L. Van Kirk, Jr. age 80 of Wayne died on Wednesday, January 21, 2008 at the Hackensack University Hospital with his five sons by his side.
He was born in Paterson and raised in Clifton where he graduated from Clifton High School with the class of 1946. As a boy growing up through the Second World War, he closely followed the movements of the Allied Forces in Europe and the Pacific on maps in his bedroom. Too young to serve in the war, he joined the Army when he came of age and served in Japan during the occupation. His service earned him the WWII Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal—Japan. He was later called up from the reserves during the Korean Conflict, during which he served as a supply sergeant, attaining the rank of Sergeant First Class. After his military service he worked for the Passaic Valley Water Commission and later for Schering Corporation (later Schering-Plough), where he began as a stock-clerk, and moved through the positions of Pipe-fitter, Electrician, Maintenance Foreman, and finally Senior Maintenance Planner. He worked at the Union Plant and later at Bloomfield, putting in 38 years with the company before retiring in 1985.
Jack, as he was known to his family, married Eileen Mary Petty in 1951. Living first in Clifton, then in Union and Maplewood, they raised five sons: John L. III, now living in Huntington, West Virginia; Crispin C., of Pompton Plains; David A. of Jacksonville, Florida; Matthew C., of Newfoundland; and Jeffrey M., of Randolph. A loving father and husband, Jack moonlighted for many years as a plumber and electrician to provide for his family. He would come home from his job at Schering, take a nap on the couch, eat dinner with his family, and head out in his station wagon full of tools to work until 11 or so at night, then get up at 6 to do it all over again. Saturdays he worked as well, and among his boys’ fondest memories are those of being allowed to help him from time to time on such jobs, where they all learned the basics of construction and home-repair at his side. The Van Kirk family moved to Pines Lake in Wayne in 1979, where they lived in the house built by Jack’s grandfather, Komer Van Kirk. He lived in that house until he died, which was a wish he often expressed.
His beloved wife, Eileen, died in 1995, and Jack later married Joan Barron, who survives him. He is also survived by his sister Mary Ellen Cordier of Scottsdale , Arizona, and his brother Stewart J. Van Kirk, of Tucson, Arizona. He leaves behind a legacy that includes grandchildren: Tyler, Elaina, and Patrick Van Kirk, children of his son Cris and his wife Barbara; Ariel Van Kirk, daughter of David and his wife Susan; Eileen and Meagan Van Kirk, daughters of Matthew and his wife Patty; and Kyle and Kara Van Kirk, children of Jeffrey and his wife Jeanne.
John Van Kirk loved his country more than anything other than his family. His service to his country didn’t end with his time in the Army, but continued in the American Legion in Clifton and later in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 10120, in Maplewood where he served in many positions over the years. Never one to seek out the spotlight, he declined all requests to become commander of the post, but he was for many years the Chairman of the Blood Drive, a cause to which he was dedicated for his entire life. Some of the records have been lost, but he is believed to have donated over 40 gallons in his lifetime, and possibly much more.
He was an avid fisherman, a love he passed on to his boys and that they have passed on to their children. He was never happier than when he could help a child catch a fish, taking far more pleasure in the child’s excitement than he did in catching fish himself. He was the treasurer of the Pines Lake Fishing Club, and was actively involved in the preservation of the Pines Lake fishery.
Locally famous for his dedication to recycling, Jack couldn’t bear to see things thrown in the garbage that could made useful again, whether by being reprocessed, as newspaper, or melted down and used once more. He collected aluminum cans for the Wayne Boys and Girls Club, and made regular trips to the junkyard with truckloads of scrap iron, old copper pipe, and discarded aluminum door and window frames.
He was hale and hearty until the last months of his life, and will be remembered as an energetic and convivial member of the community, with a ready smile, and a love of conversation, perhaps most at home sitting on his front porch in Pines Lake, the flag flying, and watching the world go by. He will be deeply missed.
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Funeral services will be held 10 AM on Saturday, January 24, 2008 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. Friends may visit with the family on Friday from 2-4, 7-9 PM at the funeral home. Interment will be in East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to VFW District 4 Blood Bank, 4 Courter Avenue, Maplewood, NJ 07040-2715.
January 21, 2009
Services
Funeral services will be held 10 AM on Saturday, January 24, 2008 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. Friends may visit with the family on Friday from 2-4, 7-9 PM at the funeral home. Interment will be in East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to VFW District 4 Blood Bank, 4 Courter Avenue, Maplewood, NJ 07040-2715.
John L. Van Kirk, Jr. age 80 of Wayne died on Wednesday, January 21, 2008 at the Hackensack University Hospital with his five sons by his side.
He was born in Paterson and raised in Clifton where he graduated from Clifton High School with the class of 1946. As a boy growing up through the Second World War, he closely followed the movements of the Allied Forces in Europe and the Pacific on maps in his bedroom. Too young to serve in the war, he joined the Army when he came of age and served in Japan during the occupation. His service earned him the WWII Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal—Japan. He was later called up from the reserves during the Korean Conflict, during which he served as a supply sergeant, attaining the rank of Sergeant First Class. After his military service he worked for the Passaic Valley Water Commission and later for Schering Corporation (later Schering-Plough), where he began as a stock-clerk, and moved through the positions of Pipe-fitter, Electrician, Maintenance Foreman, and finally Senior Maintenance Planner. He worked at the Union Plant and later at Bloomfield, putting in 38 years with the company before retiring in 1985.
Jack, as he was known to his family, married Eileen Mary Petty in 1951. Living first in Clifton, then in Union and Maplewood, they raised five sons: John L. III, now living in Huntington, West Virginia; Crispin C., of Pompton Plains; David A. of Jacksonville, Florida; Matthew C., of Newfoundland; and Jeffrey M., of Randolph. A loving father and husband, Jack moonlighted for many years as a plumber and electrician to provide for his family. He would come home from his job at Schering, take a nap on the couch, eat dinner with his family, and head out in his station wagon full of tools to work until 11 or so at night, then get up at 6 to do it all over again. Saturdays he worked as well, and among his boys’ fondest memories are those of being allowed to help him from time to time on such jobs, where they all learned the basics of construction and home-repair at his side. The Van Kirk family moved to Pines Lake in Wayne in 1979, where they lived in the house built by Jack’s grandfather, Komer Van Kirk. He lived in that house until he died, which was a wish he often expressed.
His beloved wife, Eileen, died in 1995, and Jack later married Joan Barron, who survives him. He is also survived by his sister Mary Ellen Cordier of Scottsdale , Arizona, and his brother Stewart J. Van Kirk, of Tucson, Arizona. He leaves behind a legacy that includes grandchildren: Tyler, Elaina, and Patrick Van Kirk, children of his son Cris and his wife Barbara; Ariel Van Kirk, daughter of David and his wife Susan; Eileen and Meagan Van Kirk, daughters of Matthew and his wife Patty; and Kyle and Kara Van Kirk, children of Jeffrey and his wife Jeanne.
John Van Kirk loved his country more than anything other than his family. His service to his country didn’t end with his time in the Army, but continued in the American Legion in Clifton and later in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 10120, in Maplewood where he served in many positions over the years. Never one to seek out the spotlight, he declined all requests to become commander of the post, but he was for many years the Chairman of the Blood Drive, a cause to which he was dedicated for his entire life. Some of the records have been lost, but he is believed to have donated over 40 gallons in his lifetime, and possibly much more.
He was an avid fisherman, a love he passed on to his boys and that they have passed on to their children. He was never happier than when he could help a child catch a fish, taking far more pleasure in the child’s excitement than he did in catching fish himself. He was the treasurer of the Pines Lake Fishing Club, and was actively involved in the preservation of the Pines Lake fishery.
Locally famous for his dedication to recycling, Jack couldn’t bear to see things thrown in the garbage that could made useful again, whether by being reprocessed, as newspaper, or melted down and used once more. He collected aluminum cans for the Wayne Boys and Girls Club, and made regular trips to the junkyard with truckloads of scrap iron, old copper pipe, and discarded aluminum door and window frames.
He was hale and hearty until the last months of his life, and will be remembered as an energetic and convivial member of the community, with a ready smile, and a love of conversation, perhaps most at home sitting on his front porch in Pines Lake, the flag flying, and watching the world go by. He will be deeply missed.
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