Obituary of John P Sokolowsky

John Patrick Sokolowsky, 96, formerly of Morris Plains, NJ, more recently of Hackettstown, NJ, passed away at Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. Born in Avoca, PA, John resided in Morris Plains for 64 before moving to Hackettstown one year ago. After high school, John joined the Army and transferred to the new Army Air Corp. (US Air Force). Upon honorable discharge, he joined the Air Force Reserve and he retired as a Major in 1979. John married Lucille Egliskis in 1945 and they were happily married until her death in 2012. John worked as a milkman delivering in Madison and Morristown. He was a school bus driver, school janitor, local hardware store clerk, and then a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Morris Township, until his retirement in 1984. John was a member of St. John the Baptist Ukranian Catholic Church in Whippany, NJ. He was also a member of the American Legion – Post 155 in Whippany. John loved the outdoors and fishing with his wife, children, grandchildren and great-children. He was the ultimate handyman and family auto mechanic. He was a devoted husband and father and well-loved by his family and friends. John is survived by his devoted children, Simon Sokolowsky, and his wife, Beverly (Viavant), Mary Sokolowsky Wiest, and her husband, Richard Wiest, Kathryn Sokolowsky D’Agostini, Virginia Sokolowsky Allen, and her husband, William M. Allen, Andrew Sokolowsky, and his wife, Jeanne (Taylor), and James Sokolowsky, and his wife, Debra (Smith). He is also survived by his cherished grandchildren, Andrew Sokolowsky, Tara Sokolowsky, and her husband, John Haurin, Renee Sokolowsky, and her husband, Brian Smith, Robin Sokolowsky, and her husband, Kenneth Marks, Michelle Wiest, Charles Wiest, and his wife, Breanne Peterson, Nicholas Wiest, Bradley Wiest, Mary D’Agostini Leimeister, John D’Agostini, Katrina Allen, April Allen, Jessica Allen Mullett, and her husband, Patrick Mullett, Matthew Sokolowsky, Kristina Sokolowsky, and Amanda Sokolowsky; as well as his adored 19 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his late parents, John Sokolowksy and Magdalena Prokop, John was predeceased by his wife, Lucille, in 2012; his son, John Patrick III, in 1973; and his siblings, Michael, of Avoca, PA, Catherine, of Rockville Center, NY, Helen of Rockville Center, NY, Edward of Pittston, PA, Ann of Syracuse, NY, George of South Brunswick, NJ, and Jean of Pittson, PA. A Funeral Mass for John will be held on Monday, September 14, 2015 at 10:00am at St. John the Baptist Ukranian Catholic Church, 60 North Jefferson Road, Whippany, NJ. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, NJ. Visiting will be on Sunday, September 13, 2015 from 1-4pm at Dangler Funeral Home, 600 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in memory of John may be made to: NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife, Attn: Paulette Nelson, PO Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625, (please include note: Morris & Warren Development of Handicap Fishing Access).