Edwin H. Laubach Jr.

Edwin H. Laubach Jr.

Edwin H. Laubach Jr., 86, passed away peacefully on May 12, 2020 at the NJ Veterans Memorial Home in Edison NJ, attended to by staff and the National Guard.

Born in Fords, NJ, he graduated from Woodbridge High School and enlisted in the US Air Force during the Korean War, serving half of his time in the South Pacific on Kwajelein Atoll (Marshall Islands) where he witnessed the first H-Bomb test on nearby Eniwetok Atoll.

Returning to the states, he served his last year in Roslyn, Long Island. After being honorably discharged from the USAF, he attended and graduated from Rider College in Lawrenceville, NJ in 1960, and got his Master of Education Degree from Newark State Teachers College (Kean University). He was also a member of the Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity.

He became a teacher in the Woodbridge NJ school system, starting in #7 School in Fords, then became a guidance counselor in Colonia Jr. High and eventually J.F. Kennedy High School, for a total of 30 years before retiring in 1988.

One snowy weekend in February of 1961 he was supposed to go skiing in Vermont with his fellow Woodbridge schoolteachers Art Stock and Louis Kuhn - but it snowed so hard in NJ they could to travel to Vermont. So that Sunday he went over to a colleague's house to help her type a paper. Since it was Valentine's Day he brought some flowers and chocolates with him. Six months later he married that colleague - the love of his live - J. Lorraine Oklamcak. Ed and Lorraine were happily married for the past 58+ years.

He was an active member Grace Lutheran Church in Perth Amboy, as a parishioner, usher and church council member. Edwin was also a member of Middlesex County Veterans Committee, a Vice President of the Middlesex County Guidance Counselors Association, and an American Legion Member. He lived his life with a strong sense of duty, honor, and country.

Ed was also an avid fisherman and gardener. He loved his vegetables - especially tomatoes. He also traveled widely with his wife Lorraine.

He was proud of the fact his family emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 1700's, buying land from William Penn. He is a direct descendent of Christian Conrad Laubach who served in the Continental Army under George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. He was a Board Member of the Laubach Family Association.

Edwin H. Laubach is pre-deceased by his parents, Edwin H. Laubach Sr. and Naomi Dauscher Laubach of Fords, NJ (both originally from Catasauqua, PA), and his sister Shirley Laubach Gerhard.

He is survived by his wife J. Lorraine Laubach, his son Edwin G. Laubach and his wife Nadia Laubach and their children Layla J. Laubach and Edwin N. Laubach, and his sister Cristel Laubach Smith.

Funeral services, under the direction of the Spezzi Funeral Home, 15 Cherry Lane, Parlin NJ, N.J., are private due to the COVID-19 federal restrictions on public gatherings. A memorial gathering and a mass will be held later in the year. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Edwin's name to Alzheimer's Association - www.alz.org.