William "Bill" Garrity, Jr.
William "Bill" Garrity, Jr. Obituary
William C. Garrity Jr
William “Bill” Garrity Jr., age 92, of Lowell, NC, formerly of Clark, NJ died Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at Gaston Memorial Hospital, NC. Bill was born February 24, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Hillside, NJ, before moving to Clark, NJ in 1952. He was the only son of the late William C. Garrity, Sr. and Bertha (Oelschlaeger) Garrity. He was a US Navy veteran of World War II and served on the Destroyer Escort ship E.A. Howard in the Pacific theater. Bill founded, owned and operated Correct Temp Inc. HVAC/R in Kenilworth, NJ where he was an active member of the KMA (Kenilworth Manufacturers Association) until his retirement in 1997. He was a member of VFW Post 335 in Cranford, NJ and a member of their marching drill team for many years. An avid fisherman, he spent summers in Mountain Lake, NJ; annual vacations to Canada with his son before settling in Normandy Shores, NJ in the 60’s where he enjoyed 40+ years at the fabulous Jersey Shore house with his wife of 50 years, Claire. Bill loved boating and surf-fishing; he and Claire became snow-birds, spending summers in Normandy and winters in their residence on North Hutchinson Island, Florida.
He is predeceased by his beloved wife Claire (Smith) Garrity; his father William Garrity Sr. and the mother who raised him Otilia (Oelschlaeger) Garrity. Bill is survived by his children, William Garrity III and wife Carol of St. Mary’s, Georgia and Jill (Garrity) Krauss and husband Robert of Flemington, NJ. Bill & Claire also have 5 grandchildren, Bridget, Shawn, Kimberly, Robert & Ashley and 6 great-grandchildren. Also, survived by his older sister Shirley (Garrity) Magliaro of Hillsborough, NJ.
Bill remarried and is survived by his wife Freda (Baldwin) Garrity of Lowell, NC; Freda’s children Dale Connor and wife Sandi of Lowell, NC, Steve Stacy and wife Hope of Jacksonville, FL and Wanda Jones of Palm Beach, FL and Freda’s 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Freda’s family adored Bill and all treated him as their own ‘Poppy’.
Funeral services and burial took place in North Carolina on January 21st, 2019 per Freda’s wishes with full military honors.
A Memorial service will be conducted at Bridgewater Funeral Home, Bridgewater, NJ on Saturday, February 9th, 2019 from 2-4 PM. Service at 3:30 with visitation before to honor Bill's life and share condolences to his friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to either Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society.
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