Obituary of Julius Rathjen

Julius “Fred” Rathjen passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at the age of 90. Born in Union City, NJ, he was a longtime resident of Franklin Lakes. Fred proudly served in the U.S. Army Aircorps during WWII. He was employed at Singer Kearfott in Wayne, NJ for many years then began the J. F. Rathjen engineering consulting company. He was a longtime member of the Advent Lutheran Church in Wyckoff and served on their council for 15 years. Fred is survived by his loving wife of 64 years Wilma E.; son Scott F.; daughter Mayna A. Rightmire, her husband Michael; and three grandchildren: Christopher, Brittany, and Derek. The funeral service for Fred will be held on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at the Advent Lutheran Church, 777 Wyckoff Ave., Wyckoff, NJ 07481. Interment will follow at Redeemer Cemetery in Mahwah. Contributions in Fred’s memory may be made to the Franklin Lakes Volunteer Ambulance Corps., P.O. Box 302, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. For more information contact Vander Plaat Funeral Home, (vpfh.com), 257 Godwin Ave., Wyckoff, NJ.