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February 19, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, March 3, 2018 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Bill’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
William Kudla, a longtime resident of Wayne and formerly of Clifton, passed peacefully on the evening of Monday, February 19, 2018. He was 92.
Born in Wallington, he lived in Clifton before becoming a resident of Wayne in 1955.
A proud American, Bill enlisted and honorably served as a rifle sharpshooter in the United States Marine Corps during World War II in Japan. He attained the rank of Corporal and was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds he sustained while defending the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. He later became an active member of the Disabled Veterans of Clifton and the Elks Club of Wayne, and was also a parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley Church near his home in Wayne.
One day in 1945 while home on leave from Marine service, Bill stopped in an ice cream parlor near Fourth Street in Passaic. “Stunningly handsome in his U.S. Marine uniform” – that’s how a young lady named Mary Malik would later describe Bill as she would recount the story. Miss Malik happened to be in that ice cream parlor at the same time with some of her friends. She somehow made sure to make Bill’s acquaintance and doing so that day would forever change the course of their lives. They fell in love and the following year were married on April 28, 1946 at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in Passaic. They would go on to enjoy 69 years in a loving and devoted marriage until Mary’s passing in 2016.
After the wedding, Bill and Mary initially settled on Lisbon Street in Clifton with Bill’s parents in a two-family house. A year later the stork made their first delivery. Bill and Mary were blessed with Marion, their firstborn. Three years later Patricia was delivered. This growing family moved, this time to Kulick Street, still in Clifton. Soon after, in 1956, they bought land in Wayne and, with the help of Bill’s step-dad Frank Szwed who was a mason by trade, Frank, Bill and Mary began building their new home at Alps Road, brick by brick by brick. In 1959 the stork visited their new home bringing Barbara #3. Next arrivals were Kenneth #4, Kim #5 and Darlene #6. Mary and Bill raised all their children in that home on Alps Road and it’s still the Kudla residence to this day.
After coming home from the war, Bill first went to work with his brothers John, Emil, and Elmer in the family gas station, Kudla’s Service Center on Route 46 in Clifton near the White Castle Restaurant. Soon after, he pretty-much simultaneously ventured into two other businesses – one on a part-time basis and one full-time. The part-time job was a venture that he started with his brother Emil. If you ever wondered who supplies the metal frames or stands to florists that they use to display floral sprays in cemeteries and funeral homes, you can stop wondering. Bill and his brother saw an opportunity. They offered to remove the frames from the cemeteries and funeral homes. Then they took them back to their shop in Passaic, refurbished them and sold them back to the local florists. They named their business Kudla Florist Supply and Bill’s children grew up in the business and have fond memories of those deliveries in the old Chevy box truck. Bill’s full-time work was in the garment industry. He began as a foreman with McGregor Sporting Goods, a clothing manufacturer in Haskell and later in Paterson. Later in his career he worked for companies making high-end apparel for the likes of Jones New York and Liz Claiborne before wrapping up a career that would span sixty years, for a designer of leather apparel. After retirement in 1990, he focused much of his attention on coming alongside his wife Mary in his floral supply business and from that job he never really formally retired.
Mary and Bill enjoyed a wonderful, blessed life together. When they were younger, they spent summer vacations at Seaside Heights with Mary’s brother Eddy and his wife Rose. Bill’s children have fond memories of fun times at the Jersey Shore. For their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Bill and Mary took a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. They marked their fiftieth anniversary with a huge dinner celebration at the Brownstone House in Paterson and their sixtieth on a Circle Line Cruise in New York City. Family traditions were so very important to Bill. Everyone loved getting together for holidays but they were also expected to be together. Every Sunday, if you were looking for a member of the Kudla family, you could bet that you’d find all of them gathered at Bill and Mary’s house on Alps along with a host of friends. Sunday was “Funday” at the Kudla house and, on that day, you could count on plenty of folks swimming in the pool, playing games of lawn darts and badminton, and Bill tending bar and serving as the honorary “Master Griller.” At these parties he was also chief instigator - able to stir up commotion but the first one to always yell “That’s enough!” if things got too much out of hand.
A very special event took place this past Christmas. Actually, it was a reprise of a tradition that Bill started himself many years ago. Every Christmas during their childhood and beyond, Bill’s kids remember how he would create a balsam wreath. But this wreath was different. It was 14 feet in diameter and every year, you had to walk through the wreath to get through the front door of Bill and Mary’s house. Well, this past Christmas, Darlene – Bill’s youngest daughter who works at Yesterdays Irish Pub and Restaurant in Warwick, NY, asked the owner if she could re-create the 14 foot wreath and have it adorn the front door of the tavern. The owner agreed and Darlene and her sisters got together and built the wreath, decorated it with the ornaments, and set it up in front of the pub. With phase one completed, it was time for the fun part. Kim, another one of Bill’s daughters, picked up Bill and took him on a surprise ride to Yesterdays Pub to see the wreath and re-live the magic of Christmas’s past. On the way, to help focus Bill’s attention, she kept reminding him to look at all the beautiful Christmas decorations along the way. When they pulled up to the pub and Bill saw the magnificent wreath, the grin that came across his face could have lit up the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center! But there’s more to this great story. Yesterdays Pub is right near the Warwick train depot, and the United States Marines were holding an event there that same day to collect Toys for Tots. When Bill met these young Marines, he pride-fully stood as tall as his old body would allow and they in turn were so genuinely honored to have the privilege of meeting a World War II recipient of two Purple Hearts. The pub won best decorated storefront in Warwick and, because the wreath-making tradition was Bill’s legacy, the whole event was just pure Christmas Magic!
Bill was loved by his family in an immense way. While he didn’t always make things easy for his children, like any loving parent, sometimes he felt it best that they go through the trials to better prepare them for life. He did a great job of holding his family together – teaching them that when inevitable disagreements come along, to always remember that love is greater and more important than any conflict.
Surviving to mourn his loss but celebrate his life are his six dear children: Marion Velechko of Hamden, NY, Patricia Kudla of Tuxedo, NY, Barbara Rissman of Tionesta, CA, Kenneth Kudla of Wayne, Kim Kudla of Warwick, NY and Darlene Kudla Grasso of Highland Lakes; cherished grandfather of seven grandchildren: Kelly Garry (predeceased), Stacy Toner of Harpswell, ME, Bryson Nieves of Warwick, NY, Erin Addison of St. John, WA, Jessica Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Joshua Rissman (predeceased), and Michael Rissman of Tionesta, CA; adored great-grandfather of seven great-grandchildren: Caitlyn Rohmert of Boonton, Alyssa Addison of St. John, WA, Brandon Valencia of Orangevale, CA, Jesse Addison of St. John WA, Jayson Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Aiden Odle of Klamath Falls, OR, and Rusty Addison of St. John, WA. Bill was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary in 2016 and his three brothers: John, Emil, and Elmer Kudla.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Bill’s name are asked to consider the Fisher House Foundation, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850-5168 or online at www.fisherhouse.org
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 Saturday, March 3, 2018 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Bill’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
February 19, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, March 3, 2018 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Bill’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
William Kudla, a longtime resident of Wayne and formerly of Clifton, passed peacefully on the evening of Monday, February 19, 2018. He was 92.
Born in Wallington, he lived in Clifton before becoming a resident of Wayne in 1955.
A proud American, Bill enlisted and honorably served as a rifle sharpshooter in the United States Marine Corps during World War II in Japan. He attained the rank of Corporal and was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds he sustained while defending the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. He later became an active member of the Disabled Veterans of Clifton and the Elks Club of Wayne, and was also a parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley Church near his home in Wayne.
One day in 1945 while home on leave from Marine service, Bill stopped in an ice cream parlor near Fourth Street in Passaic. “Stunningly handsome in his U.S. Marine uniform” – that’s how a young lady named Mary Malik would later describe Bill as she would recount the story. Miss Malik happened to be in that ice cream parlor at the same time with some of her friends. She somehow made sure to make Bill’s acquaintance and doing so that day would forever change the course of their lives. They fell in love and the following year were married on April 28, 1946 at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in Passaic. They would go on to enjoy 69 years in a loving and devoted marriage until Mary’s passing in 2016.
After the wedding, Bill and Mary initially settled on Lisbon Street in Clifton with Bill’s parents in a two-family house. A year later the stork made their first delivery. Bill and Mary were blessed with Marion, their firstborn. Three years later Patricia was delivered. This growing family moved, this time to Kulick Street, still in Clifton. Soon after, in 1956, they bought land in Wayne and, with the help of Bill’s step-dad Frank Szwed who was a mason by trade, Frank, Bill and Mary began building their new home at Alps Road, brick by brick by brick. In 1959 the stork visited their new home bringing Barbara #3. Next arrivals were Kenneth #4, Kim #5 and Darlene #6. Mary and Bill raised all their children in that home on Alps Road and it’s still the Kudla residence to this day.
After coming home from the war, Bill first went to work with his brothers John, Emil, and Elmer in the family gas station, Kudla’s Service Center on Route 46 in Clifton near the White Castle Restaurant. Soon after, he pretty-much simultaneously ventured into two other businesses – one on a part-time basis and one full-time. The part-time job was a venture that he started with his brother Emil. If you ever wondered who supplies the metal frames or stands to florists that they use to display floral sprays in cemeteries and funeral homes, you can stop wondering. Bill and his brother saw an opportunity. They offered to remove the frames from the cemeteries and funeral homes. Then they took them back to their shop in Passaic, refurbished them and sold them back to the local florists. They named their business Kudla Florist Supply and Bill’s children grew up in the business and have fond memories of those deliveries in the old Chevy box truck. Bill’s full-time work was in the garment industry. He began as a foreman with McGregor Sporting Goods, a clothing manufacturer in Haskell and later in Paterson. Later in his career he worked for companies making high-end apparel for the likes of Jones New York and Liz Claiborne before wrapping up a career that would span sixty years, for a designer of leather apparel. After retirement in 1990, he focused much of his attention on coming alongside his wife Mary in his floral supply business and from that job he never really formally retired.
Mary and Bill enjoyed a wonderful, blessed life together. When they were younger, they spent summer vacations at Seaside Heights with Mary’s brother Eddy and his wife Rose. Bill’s children have fond memories of fun times at the Jersey Shore. For their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Bill and Mary took a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. They marked their fiftieth anniversary with a huge dinner celebration at the Brownstone House in Paterson and their sixtieth on a Circle Line Cruise in New York City. Family traditions were so very important to Bill. Everyone loved getting together for holidays but they were also expected to be together. Every Sunday, if you were looking for a member of the Kudla family, you could bet that you’d find all of them gathered at Bill and Mary’s house on Alps along with a host of friends. Sunday was “Funday” at the Kudla house and, on that day, you could count on plenty of folks swimming in the pool, playing games of lawn darts and badminton, and Bill tending bar and serving as the honorary “Master Griller.” At these parties he was also chief instigator - able to stir up commotion but the first one to always yell “That’s enough!” if things got too much out of hand.
A very special event took place this past Christmas. Actually, it was a reprise of a tradition that Bill started himself many years ago. Every Christmas during their childhood and beyond, Bill’s kids remember how he would create a balsam wreath. But this wreath was different. It was 14 feet in diameter and every year, you had to walk through the wreath to get through the front door of Bill and Mary’s house. Well, this past Christmas, Darlene – Bill’s youngest daughter who works at Yesterdays Irish Pub and Restaurant in Warwick, NY, asked the owner if she could re-create the 14 foot wreath and have it adorn the front door of the tavern. The owner agreed and Darlene and her sisters got together and built the wreath, decorated it with the ornaments, and set it up in front of the pub. With phase one completed, it was time for the fun part. Kim, another one of Bill’s daughters, picked up Bill and took him on a surprise ride to Yesterdays Pub to see the wreath and re-live the magic of Christmas’s past. On the way, to help focus Bill’s attention, she kept reminding him to look at all the beautiful Christmas decorations along the way. When they pulled up to the pub and Bill saw the magnificent wreath, the grin that came across his face could have lit up the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center! But there’s more to this great story. Yesterdays Pub is right near the Warwick train depot, and the United States Marines were holding an event there that same day to collect Toys for Tots. When Bill met these young Marines, he pride-fully stood as tall as his old body would allow and they in turn were so genuinely honored to have the privilege of meeting a World War II recipient of two Purple Hearts. The pub won best decorated storefront in Warwick and, because the wreath-making tradition was Bill’s legacy, the whole event was just pure Christmas Magic!
Bill was loved by his family in an immense way. While he didn’t always make things easy for his children, like any loving parent, sometimes he felt it best that they go through the trials to better prepare them for life. He did a great job of holding his family together – teaching them that when inevitable disagreements come along, to always remember that love is greater and more important than any conflict.
Surviving to mourn his loss but celebrate his life are his six dear children: Marion Velechko of Hamden, NY, Patricia Kudla of Tuxedo, NY, Barbara Rissman of Tionesta, CA, Kenneth Kudla of Wayne, Kim Kudla of Warwick, NY and Darlene Kudla Grasso of Highland Lakes; cherished grandfather of seven grandchildren: Kelly Garry (predeceased), Stacy Toner of Harpswell, ME, Bryson Nieves of Warwick, NY, Erin Addison of St. John, WA, Jessica Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Joshua Rissman (predeceased), and Michael Rissman of Tionesta, CA; adored great-grandfather of seven great-grandchildren: Caitlyn Rohmert of Boonton, Alyssa Addison of St. John, WA, Brandon Valencia of Orangevale, CA, Jesse Addison of St. John WA, Jayson Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Aiden Odle of Klamath Falls, OR, and Rusty Addison of St. John, WA. Bill was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary in 2016 and his three brothers: John, Emil, and Elmer Kudla.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Bill’s name are asked to consider the Fisher House Foundation, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850-5168 or online at www.fisherhouse.org
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