Obituary for John W Gartner Jr.
John Winter Gartner Jr, 83, of Cranbury NJ, peacefully passed away at home on Monday February 14th 2021 after a long illness.
He was born on January 2nd, 1938 in Clinton, NJ to John and Mary Gartner of Lawrenceville, NJ.
John graduated high school from The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. While there, he was a member of the track team that won the Penn Relays Carnival Mile Relay, Championship of America, bringing home a gold watch.
After graduating high school in 1956, he joined the army for three years (stationed in Hawaii), and then received a BA in accounting from the Babson School of Business in 1962. While at Babson, he was smitten with an enchantress from a foreign land, and married Kay Perinchief of Hamilton, Bermuda, on May 11, 1963.
John worked for Kimberly-Clark for forty-five years as a manager of the Specialty Papers Division, relocating the family from Cranbury, NJ to Roswell, GA in 1982 to follow a company move. In 1991, he retired from KC to move to Bermuda to become a part-owner and ordering manager for Gorham Hardware, Ltd. Apparently, after sixteen years, living in paradise simply became just too much to bear, and he and Kay retired/snuck back to Cranbury, NJ in 2007 when no one was paying attention.
John's volunteer activities included revitalizing the Cranbury Boy Scout Troop 52, promoting numerous scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout, as well as sending scouts to summer camps, jamborees, and high adventure bases. For the local Cranbury Little League, he built their first score board, as well as upgraded all the team equipment. He also took the job of recording/publishing track meet results for The Peddie School during the early 80's.
His favorite activities included playing tennis (as a younger man) and golf (in his retirement) with his buddies from Cranbury and 4 Seasons, gardening, and wood working. He was a collector of esoteric items - model trains, US stamps, matchbooks, bicentennial quarters, and camping gear.
John is survived by his wife of 57 years, Kay, of Cranbury, son John Gartner and wife Connie, of Gaithersburg, MD, son Mark Gartner and wife Ann, of Hightstown, NJ, and daughter Catherine Holmes and husband Jerry, of Gainesville, GA. He also has six grandchildren (Nate, Hal, Kyle, Lauren, Tyler, and Emma), a sister, Sandy Gartner, of Lander, WY, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
John is predeceased by his parents, John and Mary Gartner of Fitzwilliam NH, sister Barbara Parker of Cranbury, NJ, sister Wendy Rowland and her husband Barry, of South Londonderry, VT, and grandson Zachary Gartner.
No services are planned at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Barlow & Zimmer Funeral Home, Hightstown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, John and Kay's wish is for donations to be made in his name to BSA Troop 52, c/o Tim Brennan, 10 Park Place East, Cranbury, NJ 08512.
This is where we put in a poem or inspirational quote, but we all know that's not his style....
He was born on January 2nd, 1938 in Clinton, NJ to John and Mary Gartner of Lawrenceville, NJ.
John graduated high school from The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. While there, he was a member of the track team that won the Penn Relays Carnival Mile Relay, Championship of America, bringing home a gold watch.
After graduating high school in 1956, he joined the army for three years (stationed in Hawaii), and then received a BA in accounting from the Babson School of Business in 1962. While at Babson, he was smitten with an enchantress from a foreign land, and married Kay Perinchief of Hamilton, Bermuda, on May 11, 1963.
John worked for Kimberly-Clark for forty-five years as a manager of the Specialty Papers Division, relocating the family from Cranbury, NJ to Roswell, GA in 1982 to follow a company move. In 1991, he retired from KC to move to Bermuda to become a part-owner and ordering manager for Gorham Hardware, Ltd. Apparently, after sixteen years, living in paradise simply became just too much to bear, and he and Kay retired/snuck back to Cranbury, NJ in 2007 when no one was paying attention.
John's volunteer activities included revitalizing the Cranbury Boy Scout Troop 52, promoting numerous scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout, as well as sending scouts to summer camps, jamborees, and high adventure bases. For the local Cranbury Little League, he built their first score board, as well as upgraded all the team equipment. He also took the job of recording/publishing track meet results for The Peddie School during the early 80's.
His favorite activities included playing tennis (as a younger man) and golf (in his retirement) with his buddies from Cranbury and 4 Seasons, gardening, and wood working. He was a collector of esoteric items - model trains, US stamps, matchbooks, bicentennial quarters, and camping gear.
John is survived by his wife of 57 years, Kay, of Cranbury, son John Gartner and wife Connie, of Gaithersburg, MD, son Mark Gartner and wife Ann, of Hightstown, NJ, and daughter Catherine Holmes and husband Jerry, of Gainesville, GA. He also has six grandchildren (Nate, Hal, Kyle, Lauren, Tyler, and Emma), a sister, Sandy Gartner, of Lander, WY, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
John is predeceased by his parents, John and Mary Gartner of Fitzwilliam NH, sister Barbara Parker of Cranbury, NJ, sister Wendy Rowland and her husband Barry, of South Londonderry, VT, and grandson Zachary Gartner.
No services are planned at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Barlow & Zimmer Funeral Home, Hightstown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, John and Kay's wish is for donations to be made in his name to BSA Troop 52, c/o Tim Brennan, 10 Park Place East, Cranbury, NJ 08512.
This is where we put in a poem or inspirational quote, but we all know that's not his style....