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November 5, 2011
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at the funeral home.
William C. Abner, age 78 of Wayne, died on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at home, with his family by his side. He has been a resident of Wayne since 1960.
Bill was born and raised in Gibson, Georgia and graduated from Bastonville High School. Gibson was a land of cotton and tobacco plantations, with a very traditional Southern lifestyle. After high school he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed, of all places, in Moonachie, New Jersey. While in the Army, Bill started a band with some of his fellow soldiers called the “GI Playboys”. Bill was a self-taught and very talented guitar player and they played at local events all around the Moonachie area. Their band was rather popular and Bill could sing well, play the banjo and guitar. He had a lot of fun performing in those days.
On one particular night out, Bill met Shirley Dressler of Hasbrouck Heights. The two of them hit it off and were married in 1955 at the Corpus Christi Parish in Hasbrouck Heights. Shirley recalls how Bill was terribly nervous and pacing back and forth at the church before their wedding. Little did he know then that there was nothing to worry about, as they have since enjoyed fifty seven years of a loving marriage together. Bill took Shirley to Georgia to meet his family shortly after getting married. Upon driving into Gibson, Georgia, they were pulled over by the police and the officers arrested Bill, stating loudly “we’ve been looking for you for ten years!” as they put him into the patrol car. Poor Shirley was a wreck, wondering who she had married, only to find out that it was all a joke staged by Bill’s family to startle his new bride. It worked, but thank God Shirley has a sense of humor.
Shortly after getting married, Bill’s new father-in-law helped him get a job with Local One of the International Elevator Constructors Union. That began a career spanning forty one years with Otis Elevator Company in Fairfield, NJ. Bill’s son Robert also joined his father at Otis and continues to work there today. Just recently, Bill’s grandson Daniel, was also hired and became a member of Local One, becoming the fourth generation of the Abner family in elevator construction. They announced this to Bill shortly before he passed away and it brought a smile to his face to know that his grandson would be carrying on the legacy.
Bill has always been an avid golfer and since retiring, he plays typically three times per week. Farmstead in Lafayette, NJ was his favorite haunt and he’s played more rounds of golf there than anyone cares to count, and he would have golfed more if he could. He simply loved the game and loved being out on the course with all the good friends he had at Farmstead. He also loved to cook and grille, although he usually left a trail of dirty dishes around the kitchen whenever he did so. The food was always delicious, his steaks cooked perfectly, so in the end the dirty dishes could usually be excused. Bill was a JETS season ticket holder for many years. He truly loved the tailgating parties in the parking lot, always in 17A, where he made some wonderful friends over the years. Sometimes the parties were so good that they didn’t get into the stadium until the second quarter, and other times they left the game at halftime to go back to the tailgate party outside. Although he was a devoted fan since they were the NY TITANS, Bill predicted he would never see the JETS make it to the Super Bowl again in his lifetime, and sadly he was right. Bills other passion was his lawn. He toiled endlessly to keep his lawn looking beautiful and lush. His kids were restricted from playing on it, or even walking on the lawn, for fear that they might damage it. His yard in general was always important to him, and it always looked fantastic.
Bill is survived by his wife of fifty seven years; Shirley (nee Dressler) of Wayne, three sons; John and his wife Karen of Vernon, Robert and his wife Luann of Pequannock, and Jim and his wife Michelle of Point Pleasant, six grandchildren; Kyle and his wife Lauren of Jacksonville, FL, Kelly Abner of Vernon, Jennifer and Daniel Abner of Pequannock, and Summer and Dawson Abner of Point Pleasant, and two sisters; Maggie Abner Montgomery and Janis Russell Kitchens, both of Georgia.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at the funeral home.
November 5, 2011
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at the funeral home.
William C. Abner, age 78 of Wayne, died on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at home, with his family by his side. He has been a resident of Wayne since 1960.
Bill was born and raised in Gibson, Georgia and graduated from Bastonville High School. Gibson was a land of cotton and tobacco plantations, with a very traditional Southern lifestyle. After high school he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed, of all places, in Moonachie, New Jersey. While in the Army, Bill started a band with some of his fellow soldiers called the “GI Playboys”. Bill was a self-taught and very talented guitar player and they played at local events all around the Moonachie area. Their band was rather popular and Bill could sing well, play the banjo and guitar. He had a lot of fun performing in those days.
On one particular night out, Bill met Shirley Dressler of Hasbrouck Heights. The two of them hit it off and were married in 1955 at the Corpus Christi Parish in Hasbrouck Heights. Shirley recalls how Bill was terribly nervous and pacing back and forth at the church before their wedding. Little did he know then that there was nothing to worry about, as they have since enjoyed fifty seven years of a loving marriage together. Bill took Shirley to Georgia to meet his family shortly after getting married. Upon driving into Gibson, Georgia, they were pulled over by the police and the officers arrested Bill, stating loudly “we’ve been looking for you for ten years!” as they put him into the patrol car. Poor Shirley was a wreck, wondering who she had married, only to find out that it was all a joke staged by Bill’s family to startle his new bride. It worked, but thank God Shirley has a sense of humor.
Shortly after getting married, Bill’s new father-in-law helped him get a job with Local One of the International Elevator Constructors Union. That began a career spanning forty one years with Otis Elevator Company in Fairfield, NJ. Bill’s son Robert also joined his father at Otis and continues to work there today. Just recently, Bill’s grandson Daniel, was also hired and became a member of Local One, becoming the fourth generation of the Abner family in elevator construction. They announced this to Bill shortly before he passed away and it brought a smile to his face to know that his grandson would be carrying on the legacy.
Bill has always been an avid golfer and since retiring, he plays typically three times per week. Farmstead in Lafayette, NJ was his favorite haunt and he’s played more rounds of golf there than anyone cares to count, and he would have golfed more if he could. He simply loved the game and loved being out on the course with all the good friends he had at Farmstead. He also loved to cook and grille, although he usually left a trail of dirty dishes around the kitchen whenever he did so. The food was always delicious, his steaks cooked perfectly, so in the end the dirty dishes could usually be excused. Bill was a JETS season ticket holder for many years. He truly loved the tailgating parties in the parking lot, always in 17A, where he made some wonderful friends over the years. Sometimes the parties were so good that they didn’t get into the stadium until the second quarter, and other times they left the game at halftime to go back to the tailgate party outside. Although he was a devoted fan since they were the NY TITANS, Bill predicted he would never see the JETS make it to the Super Bowl again in his lifetime, and sadly he was right. Bills other passion was his lawn. He toiled endlessly to keep his lawn looking beautiful and lush. His kids were restricted from playing on it, or even walking on the lawn, for fear that they might damage it. His yard in general was always important to him, and it always looked fantastic.
Bill is survived by his wife of fifty seven years; Shirley (nee Dressler) of Wayne, three sons; John and his wife Karen of Vernon, Robert and his wife Luann of Pequannock, and Jim and his wife Michelle of Point Pleasant, six grandchildren; Kyle and his wife Lauren of Jacksonville, FL, Kelly Abner of Vernon, Jennifer and Daniel Abner of Pequannock, and Summer and Dawson Abner of Point Pleasant, and two sisters; Maggie Abner Montgomery and Janis Russell Kitchens, both of Georgia.
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