Paul Elbert

Paul Elbert, 89, died on January 21, 2018. The Funeral will be on Friday, January 26, 2018 from St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church, Scotch Plains at 9:45am. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10am. The Visitation will be on Thursday, January 25, 2018 at the Rossi Funeral Home, 1937 Westfield Ave. Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 from 4-7pm.

Paul Elbert was born in Cologne, Germany, to parents Anna and Karl, who predeceased him. He attended a vocational school in Cologne, and he eventually worked at the Molkenkur Restaurant and Hotel in Heidelberg, Germany, as the manager. Like a line from a movie, a new acquaintance, the chef Franz Berger, told him, "You should meet my sister," and meet her he did-the love of his life, Maria Berger. They were married in 1953 and emigrated to America with their two small children, Peter and Monika, in 1957. Paul Elbert found a job at the "Old Heidelberg" Restaurant in Scotch Plains, where he and his wife proudly bought a home and raised their two children. He would later work as a restaurateur (manger and bar-tender) in several restaurants, among them, and for the longest time, Werner's Lake Edge in Watchung, and later, in semi-retirement, at Caruso's in Plainfield.

Paul Elbert was a proud, outgoing, and courageous man, who was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and he was quick to help others when they were in need. He was a role model and once received a Father's Day card from a young employee saying he was "everyone's father." He loved hosting wonderful dinner parties with his wife, a brilliant cook and baker, and he and Maria each year enjoyed planting a wonderful garden of amazing flowers, which pedestrians and neighbors always stopped to admire. Paul enjoyed telling jokes, and his laughter was contagious-sometimes we would laugh at much at his laughter as at the joke he told. He played popular music, like "Ghost Riders in the Sky," on the guitar for his children, he would sing "You are my Sunshine," on walks with his dear grand-daughter Jessica Elbert-Decker, and in recent years, he had enjoyed singing in two German choirs: (with his wife) the Schwaebische Saengerchor in Clark, N.J., and also the Newarker Saengerchor Men's Choir.

Paul Elbert is survived by his loving wife of sixty-four years, Maria, and daughter, Dr. Monika Elbert, son, Peter Elbert and wife Bernadette, as well as grand-daughter, Dr, Jessica Elbert Decker, and grand-son, Jonathan Elbert, and great-granddaughters Jenna, Hannah, and Emma. With his departure, there is a little less light, a little less music in our lives, but we will always remember him and hold him deep in our hearts for his cheery disposition, his gusto for life, his love of God and Church, and his remarkable work ethic, which has inspired us all.