Edgar William Woerner

In Loving MemoryEdgar William Woerner 1935-2025

Edgar William Woerner passed away on July 1, 2025 at the age of 90, after a brief illness at the Morristown Medical Center.  Ed’s last days were spent surrounded by family and long-time friends.

If you happened to call Ed on a sunny morning, the phone would ring for an extended time until he returned from his daily walk around the “Back 40” of his garden.  A Master Gardener, Ed spent winter months planning and ordering new flowering plants for his ever-expanding garden. He often worked to the sound of opera, delighting in his favorite recordings.  If you observed that you found gardening to be a chore, he would retort that weeding is a great stress reliever and you should try it some time.   Summers brought an explosion of color that delighted him and his life partner, Vicky.   Together they hosted an annual Labor Day party in the garden — The “Wurst Picnic” — where friends and family would appreciate the late summer blooms from his back deck while sipping a beer or a Pimm’s cocktail and enjoying a selection of German sausages and homemade bayrisch kraut made from his mother’s recipe.

He would pour a cup of coffee while he chatted with you.  When asked what his plans were for the day, Ed would probably say he was spending a bit of time taking care of customer orders at the “Global Headquarters” of his business, Essential Components and Spares.  In 1960, Ed joined his brothers Heinz and Billy in the family business, Woerner Machine & Tool, which had been founded by their father.  The 1980s and 1990s were tough times for American machine tool businesses, and eventually the business was closed down.  An engineer by training —graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1956 — and an entrepreneur by personality, Ed founded Essential Components and Spares, supplying spare parts for elevators and escalators. The company’s name was inspired by the initials of himself and his daughters: Ed, Carrie, and Stephanie. 

Ed took pleasure in passing along knowledge to the next generation.  As a single Dad of two teenage daughters, he had Stephanie and Carrie work summers in the shop: Stephanie learned to operate the lathe while Carrie learned how to record invoices and purchase orders.  Both girls learned how a heat exchanger works and that “baffles” aren’t just things that confuse you.  But he didn’t just stop with his own kids, Ed embraced summer “internships” for his grandchildren, hosting Johnny and Tess for two weeks one summer and Faye and Willa in a different summer.   

Ed might go on to say that he was going to drive out to Harrisburg later in the day — a two hour trip from his home  on a hill in Hackettstown, to play a game of handball.  A lifelong athlete, Ed played football for North Plainfield High School and went on to excel in both football and lacrosse at RPI.  Sports shaped much of his life. He and Vicky met playing tennis in the mid-1970s — truly a “love match.” He tried to teach Carrie and Stephanie proper throwing form (“point, step, throw!”), claiming a 50% success rate.   And while he enjoyed tossing a lacrosse ball around with his grandchildren, or playing the occasional game of tennis or pickleball with Vicky, 4-wall handball was Ed’s game of choice.  In the 1960’s and 70’s, Friday nights were his regular handball nights. He played on the Plainfield YMCA handball team, along with his younger brother, Billy.  And, on Saturdays, they all played tournaments together.   Ed became a four-time New Jersey State Champion and continued competing well into his 80s — even winning a National Doubles title in that decade.

If the conversation lasted much longer, Ed might go on to tell you about a book he was reading or listening to.  An avid reader, and lover of history, Ed would often spend evenings reading the latest spy thriller he had taken out of the Hackettstown Library or one of the many hefty books on military history his daughters had picked out for him as a gift.    Ed and Vicky enjoyed a friendly rivalry playing Rummikub and were loyal Jeopardy! viewers.  Perhaps a holdover from his days in the fraternity house, Ed enjoyed a good game of gin rummy and from their earliest years he taught Carrie and Stephanie how to play - and sometimes letting them win

Though Ed was not much of a traveler, he and Vicky would travel to Anguilla every winter and spend a week enjoying the sun and surf with Ed’s college roommate and DKE fraternity brother Dr. Peter Wayner and his wife Donna.  RPI and DKE reunions and milestone celebrations were events he always enjoyed.  Ed made friends for life and seeing his college buddies through the years was one of the great joys in his life.   

“Eddy’s the name and driving’s my game,” Ed would say.   While telling you about plans for the weekend, you might hear Ed grouse about Vicky’s plans for them to take a day trip, but the truth is they enjoyed the same destinations — historic sites, restored gardens, museums, local theater, opera at Glimmerglass — and with a cooler full of drinks, fruit and snacks, they would often head out to explore new places.   The next time you spoke with Ed, he would tell you what a great time he and Vicky had day-tripping!  When Carrie and Stephanie were in college, at least once during the school year, Ed would hop in his car and drive the long distances to Pittsburgh or Boston just to take them to dinner.   An enthusiastic and proud grandfather, Ed would eagerly drive to watch one of his grandchildren play their sport of choice, always cheering loudly from the sidelines.   He and Vicky were dedicated Rutgers University Women’s Basketball season ticket holders and they tried never to miss a home game — and insisted on being home to watch the away games when they were broadcast.  Whether at a game or watching from home, Ed could often be heard challenging the refs’ calls. 

Never one for long conversations, Ed would end the phone call with a promise to talk again soon.  

With Ed’s passing, the family turns the page to another generation.  Ed is preceded in death by his parents William and Liesel Woerner,  his brothers Heinz and Billy, and his nephews Bill and Karl Woerner.  He is survived by his long-time love and partner, Vicky Banach, by his daughters Caroline Woerner and Stephanie Tobin (John), his grandchildren John Tobin IV, Tess Tobin, Willa Tobin and Faye Tobin, by his nieces and nephews Trudy Perez (Dennis), Kurt Woerner (Maureen), Merritt Stephenson (Tom), Bill Woerner, and by his cousin Monica Miller.  

A service of remembrance will be held at the Chapel at Somerset Hills Cemetery on Friday August 15, 11:00 am.  Friends are invited to come and share memories with the family.