Obituary of William Branagh

Branagh, William J. age 89 of Mahwah died Wednesday, December 18, 2013. Born in Brooklyn, NY he lived in Waldwick for 56 years before recently moving to Mahwah. Before his retirement he was the Supervisor of Maintenance of the Jersey City Library System. He was a parishioner of St. Luke's R.C. Church, Ho Ho Kus where he taught CCD for a 5 year period. He was a WW II Army Veteran for 3 years including duty with the Air Force and with the Army Engineers in Okinawa. He was a member of American Legion Post, 57 and the VFW Post 1049 both of Waldwick. Bill served on the Waldwick Borough Council for 17 years from 1970-1982 and 1986-1989. He was selected by the Borough Council as the towns Number 1 Citizen to be honored during the Bergen County Tricentennial in 1983. He was involved in the Waldwick Baseball Association for 42 years, where he served as President from 1969-70 and 1983-84. On opening day of 1994, the WBA paid the biggest compliment to him by naming the minor league field, "Branagh Field". He also served as President of the Waldwick Democratic Club and was the President of the Waldwick H.S. Booster Club. Surviving are his 3 sons, William and his wife Nancy Branagh of Mahwah, Michael and his wife Katie Branagh of Hawthorne and Thomas Branagh of Mahwah. Also surviving are his 12 grandchildren and his 8 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Mary (Land) in 1987. Visiting Monday 2-4 and 7-9 pm at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave. Wyckoff, NJ. Funeral Mass Tuesday 10 am at St. Luke's R.C. Church, 340 Franklin Tpk. Ho Ho Kus, NJ. Interment George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. In lieu of flowers donations to the Waldwick Baseball Association, PO Box 168, Waldwick, NJ 07463.