Kevin Blewitt

Kevin Jude Blewitt, age 70, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home while in the loving company of his dear family, on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

The oldest son and third child of Eugene and Jean (O’Connell) Blewitt’s eleven children, Kevin was born in Denville, NJ and raised in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne. It was a place where he spent his childhood and it was a place he loved.

Kevin attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School and Wayne Valley High School where he ran cross country and graduated with the Class of 1972. With formal education behind him, Kevin embarked upon the journey of life experience as he entered the world of full time work. He started by driving tanker trucks and delivering oil for Van Varick & Sons of Wayne. He eventually shifted gears (not in his oil truck) when he pursued a new venture working for Graphic Media of Fairfield where he delivered equipment and set up media for trade shows. For the final 32 years of full-time work, until his retirement in 2018, Kevin worked for the Wayne Township Department of Public Works, most notably as a Water Treatment Facility Operator. 

One night, at a volleyball game at one of the schools in Wayne, Kevin met a beautiful girl named Patricia “Patty” Scott. Kevin had accompanied a different girl to the night’s activities, but he left with Patty. The two of them felt an initial connection. As that connection grew stronger they soon fell in love and eventually were married by the justice of the peace at the town hall in Wayne on March 15, 1980. After a wedding reception at the American Legion Hall in the Mountainview section of Wayne, they hopped in their car and headed for their honeymoon at the Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. 

Shortly after the wedding, Kevin and Patty moved from Skyline Lakes, NJ to Wayne where they resided for the rest of their lives. They were blessed with two wonderful boys – Patrick and Nicholas – who they both adored. Kevin passed on his love of fishing to his sons. It was a sport that they could enjoy together right in their own backyard or by getting in Kevin’s boat to go fishing in the river behind their house. When the boys were grown, Kevin and Pat liked to go to Martha’s Vinyard. There they enjoyed tent camping and on occasion, bears would visit while they were in their tents. Since Pat was of Native American descent, she and Kevin loved visiting the Seneca Nation Reservation in upstate New York. 

Kevin enjoyed life and the many opportunities that it offered. He loved Boston Cream donuts and crumb cake from his favorite Packanack Lake Bakery. As a young man, he had a lot of fun playing softball for his team called Bojangles, named after a bar in the Mud Valley section of Wayne. At about the age of 20, he rode his first motorcycle and it became a favorite pastime for many years to come. His pride and joy was his Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide – a real cruiser of a bike which he loved getting out on. He’d take many a ride in upstate New York and closer to home on the open roads in West Milford. Though not a veteran of the armed services himself, Kevin frequently rode with the American Legion Post 174 Riders. Those rides would be all day excursions and often including picnics or dinner, and oftentimes, the rides were billed as fund raisers to support charitable endeavors. Kevin’s always wanted to attend the annual famous Sturgis motorcycle rally in Sturgis South Dakota, but he just never made it. Besides a love for motorcycles, Kevin liked to go fishing in the river behind his house or anywhere else. He was also quite the football aficionado. While primarily a Dallas Cowboys fan, Kevin loved college football and even local Wayne football games. In fact, he was highly knowledgeable about Wayne Valley’s teams. 

Kevin and Pat loved going for rides in “THE CUSTOM VAN”. They took frequent trips together to the outlets at Woodbury Commons or simple rides to nowhere. One of Kevin’s favorite rides was in his old stomping grounds in Packanack Lake. They would often end up there, combing the streets in a spirit of reminiscence about “the good old days” of Kevin and Patty’s childhood. Kevin would frequently slow down to stare at the house he grew up in or at other houses where other family members or friends had once lived. On one occasion, Kevin and Pat were out in his van on one of their Packanack Lake history tours. They did not know it, but it was a time when a rash of robberies were taking place in Packanack Lake. Noticing Kevin’s van driving slowly, a homeowner suspected Kevin and Pat were robbers, casing the neighborhood. That neighbor called the Wayne Police who ultimately surrounded Kevin and Patty’s van on Route 23 and eventually pulled them over. It was a scary afternoon until the police concluded that Kevin and Patty were just joy riding.     

Above all else, Kevin’s greatest love and admiration were for his wife Patricia, his two sons, Patrick and Nicholas, his brothers and sisters and entire family, including his God Son Dominic. He also loved all of his dogs - all German Shepherds, all puppies raised at home, all female, all honorary Blewitt’s, and all sadly no longer with us. Mona, Samantha, Coyote, Katie, Abbey, and Hannah were their names, and they gave the family so much joy and protection. 

Kevin was lots of fun to be around. He never missed family parties and was sure to stay long, often needing to be dragged out by his sons and wife to take care of the dog. If he could get another ride home, he’d gladly stay at the party. He had a great sense of humor and was always full of great advice if you needed it. Kevin was also known for writing “KB the Pro” everywhere! If you went into the schools he attended, you’d probably find it carved into the wood somewhere. Kevin touched the lives of all who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be greatly missed but his family is grateful for his life and they take comfort in the fact that he’s reunited with his beloved wife Patricia.    

Kevin was the beloved husband of Patricia (nee Scott), blessed in marriage for 43 years until Pat’s passing in 2023. He was the loving father of Patrick of Steamburg, NY, and Nicholas of Wayne; dearest brother of Katie and husband Blase of Wayne, Joseph and wife Racie of Siesta Key, FL, Maureen and husband Rick of Caldwell, Michael and wife Christina of East Patchogue, NY, Laura and husband Tom of Syracuse, NY, Daniel and wife Ofie of Lincoln Park, Ellen and husband Jim of Maryland, Virginia and husband Ed of St. Louis, MO, Mary Anne and husband Chuck of Pompton Plains, and his late sister Christine (2007) and her husband Tony of Wayne; and awesome uncle of over thirty nieces and nephews.