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Calls outside of office hours? No worries! Our team will respond within 10–15 minutes.
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 2-4 and 7-9 PM on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held Friday, November 4, 2016 at the funeral home.
Interment will follow in Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Thomas Patrick Whitney, Sr., age 86, of Wayne, passed on Sunday, October 30, 2016.
Tom was born to the late Frank and Catherine Whitney in New York City and raised in Brooklyn. His family moved to Paterson, New Jersey where he graduated from Eastside High School with the Class of 1948. Just out of high school Tom worked for Leschel Buick and soon after enlisted in the United States Navy. He served during the Korean War aboard the USS Ingraham, a guided missile frigate. He was honorably discharged on December 21, 1954 and received the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
After his service in the Navy Thomas settled back into life in Paterson and again worked for Leschel Buick in Paterson as a mechanic. When they closed the dealership he went to work for Sears Repair Center in Maywood where he fixed appliances and garden equipment before retiring in 1995.
Tom will be remembered for his good sense of humor, being extremely frugal, and an ability to build or fix just about anything, and his carpentry skills. He loved to tinker and never believed in throwing anything out if it could be fixed. One of the loves of his life was caring for his lawn. “Keep off my grass” was often on the tip of his tongue. He enjoyed deep sea fishing with his wife Mae and would often climb aboard a party boat in Point Pleasant for day trips. He also had a huge soft spot in his heart for animals. His cat “Kittie Cat” would often sleep on him.
He was the beloved husband of forty-nine years to the late Mae Whitney (2006); devoted father of the late Timothy J. Whitney (2005); Thomas Whitney of Wayne, Frank E. Whitney and his wife Toni of Milford, PA, Joseph Whitney and his wife Doris of Wayne, Mae Minarovich and her husband William of Pompton Lakes, and Jane Moore of Neptune; cherished grandfather of eleven grandchildren: Ryan, Danielle, Ashley, Shannon, Sean, Kayla, Kimberly, Brian, Christy, Katelyn, and Alysa and two great-grandchildren: Dylan Jordan “DJ” and Andrew Jr. “AJ”. He was also predeceased by his sister Mary Clarke.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family from 2-4 and 7-9 PM on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held Friday, November 4, 2016 at the funeral home.
Interment will follow in Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 2-4 and 7-9 PM on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held Friday, November 4, 2016 at the funeral home.
Interment will follow in Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Thomas Patrick Whitney, Sr., age 86, of Wayne, passed on Sunday, October 30, 2016.
Tom was born to the late Frank and Catherine Whitney in New York City and raised in Brooklyn. His family moved to Paterson, New Jersey where he graduated from Eastside High School with the Class of 1948. Just out of high school Tom worked for Leschel Buick and soon after enlisted in the United States Navy. He served during the Korean War aboard the USS Ingraham, a guided missile frigate. He was honorably discharged on December 21, 1954 and received the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
After his service in the Navy Thomas settled back into life in Paterson and again worked for Leschel Buick in Paterson as a mechanic. When they closed the dealership he went to work for Sears Repair Center in Maywood where he fixed appliances and garden equipment before retiring in 1995.
Tom will be remembered for his good sense of humor, being extremely frugal, and an ability to build or fix just about anything, and his carpentry skills. He loved to tinker and never believed in throwing anything out if it could be fixed. One of the loves of his life was caring for his lawn. “Keep off my grass” was often on the tip of his tongue. He enjoyed deep sea fishing with his wife Mae and would often climb aboard a party boat in Point Pleasant for day trips. He also had a huge soft spot in his heart for animals. His cat “Kittie Cat” would often sleep on him.
He was the beloved husband of forty-nine years to the late Mae Whitney (2006); devoted father of the late Timothy J. Whitney (2005); Thomas Whitney of Wayne, Frank E. Whitney and his wife Toni of Milford, PA, Joseph Whitney and his wife Doris of Wayne, Mae Minarovich and her husband William of Pompton Lakes, and Jane Moore of Neptune; cherished grandfather of eleven grandchildren: Ryan, Danielle, Ashley, Shannon, Sean, Kayla, Kimberly, Brian, Christy, Katelyn, and Alysa and two great-grandchildren: Dylan Jordan “DJ” and Andrew Jr. “AJ”. He was also predeceased by his sister Mary Clarke.
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