Edward J. Lisovicz

Edward J. Lisovicz, of Wallington, distinguished veteran, engineering executive, and consummate family man, passed away peacefully on May 5, 2014. He was 92 years old. Edward was born on March 7, 1922, in Dickson City, PA, the third of four children of a coal miner, Paul, and his wife Lottie. The family struggled through the Great Depression, and he and his brother Leonard and sisters Eleanor and Antonette worked together to help run a pool hall to make ends meet before moving to Newark, NJ, in search of better opportunities. Edward finished one year of college, but with the outbreak of World War II, joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and attended Aerial Gunnery Navigation School, where he mastered the art of navigating by the stars. He attained the rank of first lieutenant and was sent to the Pacific Theater. At the age of 22 he participated in 40 air-combat missions on a B-24 Liberator, the “Tropical Trollop,” attacking the Caroline Islands, Chichi Jima, and Iwo Jima, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with Battle Star, and Air Medals. When he returned home, he attended Newark College of Engineering under the GI Bill and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. He then began a career at Thomas Electronics in Wayne, NJ, where he rose to the rank of senior vice president and ran the day-to-day operations of a business that specialized in making television and cathode ray tubes before the advent of the digital era. At Thomas, he also met the love of his life, his angel, the company nurse, Ann Marie Reid. They were married on May 1, 1954, and moved into a home in Wallington, NJ, where they established roots in the community and lived together for the remainder of his life. They raised four children: Paul, Susan, James and Donna. His was the calm voice amid the concussions,car crashes, and calamities that came along. The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in the same house six days ago.While Ed would never be described as a quiet man, his loyalty and quiet devotion to family and friends were the greatest contributions he made to those who knew him. He possessed a wonderfully positive, can-do attitude, wide-ranging intellect, and selflessness that was inspiring and earned the respect and admiration of others. He loved conversing about politics, business, and the stock market, and had an opinion about everything, right or wrong. He was a friend to his children’s friends. At the office he was known as the “Tiger,” but to many he was simply “Easy Ed,” a name bestowed on him years ago by the teenage friends of his children. At the core, he was a true family man. He lovingly and tenderly focused his life on his wife until recently when his health, but not mental acuity, began to diminish, and she became devoted to his medical needs. He retired when daughter Donna became gravely ill with cancer, and ardently cared for her and passionately researched alternative cures. His wife and children always came first, and he reveled in their achievements. His Converse Chuck Taylor Hi-Top sneakers left footprints in many places. Ed once served as a Borough Councilman in Wallington, and forever remained concerned about the clean-up of the Passaic River. He had a special place in his heart for the Jersey Shore and the many summers spent at the family beach house. He was renowned for the weekend breakfasts he would cook there for family and friends, a tradition that continues. He was an active member of the Wallington Democratic Party and the Wallington Veterans of Foreign Wars Pavlick Koster Post 2640, and he was a parishioner of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus R.C. Church. He was predeceased by his two loving sisters, who lived nearby to ages 91 and 87, his loving brother Leonard, who was 94, and his precious daughter Donna. He is survived by his two sons, Paul and James, and their wives, Joan and Laurie, and his daughter Susan and her companion Larry Bijou. In addition, he leaves behind seven adoring grandchildren: Jessica, Edan, Phillip, Edward, Danielle, Juliann, and Jennifer. Ed ran a long race and relished it. He finished at the front. A loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, neighbor, and patriot.

Edward J. Lisovicz

March 7, 1922 - May 5, 2014