Michael Jachera

Michael John Jachera, age 54 of Scotch Plains, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, April 13, 2019.

Michael was born in Glen Ridge. The first four years of his life were spent in Perth Amboy before moving with his parents and siblings to Wayne in 1968. Michael was a student at DePaul High School in Wayne where he graduated with the Class of 1982.

By his early twenties, Michael founded his own company Seal of Approval in Scotch Plains. His specialty was extending the life, beauty and integrity of his customer’s residential driveways and commercial parking lots by means of crack-filling and seal coating.

Michael met his beloved wife Holly Edelson one night in 1993 while out on the town in Hoboken. It was a mutual case of love at first sight. After a season of dating, he chose an evening when they were visiting the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY to get on one knee and ask Holly for her hand in marriage. He did not let the fact that he had no ring at the time dissuade him from his goal of marrying Holly. The exchange of vows took place on Saturday, April 29, 2000, returning to the place of his marriage proposal for the wedding ceremony - the Mohonk Mountain House. Ten years later, they returned once more to the very room at Mohonk where they had originally married and, once again, in the presence of all their guests, Michael got down on one knee and proposed.

After the wedding, Michael and Holly’s first house was in Ringwood. They remained there for about three years and then they moved to Scotch Plains where they’ve lived to this day. The blessing of two boys – Zachary and Tyler changed Michael’s life forever. He adored his sons and loved living life with them. A faithful fan of the Giants, Rangers and Mets, he shared his love of sports with Zach and Tyler and they even went to Citi Field to see the Mets less than a week ago. Michael didn’t ask for a whole lot from life. He enjoyed fishing and this hobby too, was enthusiastically shared with his sons. He loved Holly and being all-together as a family. Michael loved to cook and, having gone through two years of culinary school, he was pretty darn good at it! He loved cooking for the family and his shepherd’s pie and steak were real family favorites. Together, Michael, Holly, Zachary and Tyler made happy memories with trips to places like Disney World, the Grand Canyon, and also to Washington DC – a place that Michael loved because of his great sense of patriotism and love for America. Michael was a real history buff. He was well-versed in knowledge about all the American wars and it seemed he knew every General that ever served. He loved taking Zachary and Tyler on trips to plane and tank museums and once, on a very cool trip to the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum. Lately he was becoming increasingly concerned about America veering from her roots.

Michael’s love for family extended well beyond his wife and sons. He would do anything for anyone and his love for his extended family was clearly evident. When his niece Kristie got married in March of 2018, it was Uncle Michael who proudly walked her down the aisle in place of her dear father Jacob who had passed away. The family were so appreciative of Uncle Mike’s loving gesture and all agreed that it was most fitting since Michael didn’t have any daughters of his own to some-day walk down the aisle.  

Michael had a soft spot in his heart for the plight of homeless and sheltered animals. He and his wife Holly were supporters of the Friends of Linden Animal Shelter, sometimes making it their Christmas or birthday gift to each other to make a donation to this cause they found to be so worthy. They gave a home to a couple of the animals from the shelter themselves – their dear dog and Michael’s faithful friend Colby and their sweet cat named Jasper who recently passed away. For Michael, family was most important and his pets were a very welcomed part of that family.

Michael embodied all of the most enviable qualities. While he could be straight forward and sometimes a bit stoic, he was equally gentle. A brave and quiet man, he was an adoring father and family man who always filled the lives of others with genuine love.

Michael was the beloved husband of Holly (nee Edelson); loving father of Zachary and Tyler Jachera; loving son of Winifred Jachera of Wayne and the late John Jachera (2000); dear brother of: Patricia Galloway of Kinnelon and her late husband Jacob (2009), Linda Feldman and her husband Peter of Wayne, and Steven Jachera and his wife Antonella of Morris Plains; dear uncle of Kristie, Amanda, Alexandria, Jayden, Jonathan, and Madison; great-uncle of Aubree; dear son-in-law of Karen Frost of Somerville, and Paul Edelson of Warren; and dear brother-in-law of Dana Edelson of Manhattan.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Michael’s name are asked to consider the following two charitable organizations:

Friends of Linden Animal Shelter

Please make checks out to FOLAS

Please mail your gift to:

FOLAS

P.O. Box 2151

Linden, NJ 07036

You can also donate online at folas.org/donate

Rheumatology Research Foundation

2200 Lake Boulevard

Atlanta, GA 30319

You can also donate online at www.rheumresearch.org/donate