Obituary of Joseph Thomas Cleary

Cleary, Joseph T., Jr., age 87, of Waldwick, passed away on Saturday, April 16th, 2016. Joseph was born in Yonkers, NY, grew up in the Bronx, and lived in Ridgewood for 32 years before moving to Waldwick 19 years ago. Joseph worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for 49 years. In his retirement, he went on to become a senior sales rep. for Douglas Sales Associates, winning the prestigious Golden Penguin Award. He was a devoted member of Church of the Nativity, an Eternal Member of the Knights of Columbus, and volunteered in the Tamaron community. He is survived by his wife, Hildegard, whom he would be celebrating his 62nd wedding anniversary with on May 8th; his children, Hildegard (Joseph) Nolan, Annmarie (James) Daly, Kathleen (Kenneth) Atkinson, Joseph (Patricia) Cleary III, and Therese (Robert) Long. He was the beloved grandfather of Matthew and Heather Rudavsky, Jacqueline and J.P. Daly, Scott (Ashley), Brad, and Michael (Kate) Atkinson, Joseph IV, Brian and Kelly Cleary, Colleen and Bobby Long. Also surviving is his brother, Rip Cleary and his wife, Mo. He was predeceased by his three brothers, Vincent, Donald, and John Cleary. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 20th from 2-4 and 7-9pm at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, www.vpfh.com, 257 Godwin Ave. Wyckoff, NJ. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, April 21st at 10am at Church of the Nativity, 315 Prospect St., Midland Park, NJ. Interment to follow at Christ the King Cemetery, 980 Huron Road, Franklin Lakes, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joseph’s memory can be made to Villa Marie Claire, Holy Name Medical Center Foundation, 718 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666.