John Bremer

IN MEMORY OF
JOHN W. BREMER
Written by John, with updates by his sons.
John Bremer passed away on March 13, 2024, at his home in Somerset.
He was 80 years old.
John William Herman Bremer was born on Mother's Day, May 9, 1943 at the Evangelical Deaconess Hospital in Brooklyn NY. His parents, Johann and Anna Bremer, were immigrants from Germany who had come to the U.S. during the mid-1930's to escape Nazism and to seek a better life. John's father was in the delicatessen business, working first for others and then owning his first retail store on Central Avenue in the Glendale section of the Borough of Queens, in New York City. After selling the Central Avenue store, John's father purchased and built up a deli business on Jamaica Avenue in the Richmond Hill section.
John's mother worked initially as a domestic before becoming a full time mother and homemaker, while assisting her husband at the deli. The Bremers worked very hard, saved their money and in 1943 purchased a lovely brick home on 82nd Street in Glendale, where they lived until John's dad retired and sold the business in 1968. They then moved to the town of Huntington Station in Nassau County.
John attended Public School 113 in Glendale until the 8th grade, and then Richmond Hill High School, graduating there in 1957. He was confirmed in the faith at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glendale, Queens. John worked for his father at the deli delivering orders to customers, and later worked part time for the Long Island Press newspaper. After completing high school, John was accepted to several universities, and chose to attend the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance of New York University. After attending his Freshman year as a full time student, he transferred to part time, while working full time with the Trailways Bus System at the Port Authority Terminal in Manhattan.
In 1968, John was drafted into the US Army. While at the Reception Center, he chose to enlist for an additional year in so that he could attend the US Army's Transportation School in Fort Eustis VA, which followed basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Upon graduation, John was then assigned overseas to the Transportation Office of the 7th Infantry Division, which was then headquartered north of Seoul in the Republic of Korea, near the DMZ between North and South Korea. After successfully serving 26 months overseas, and achieving the enlisted rank of Sergeant E-5, John was honorably discharged at Fort Lewis, Washington in the Spring of 1971.
After taking some time off to travel, John returned to work for the Trailways Bus System in Manhattan, initially as supervisor of the Telephone Information Department, and then a Sales Representative. While working full time, John also returned to school, completing his studies at NYU, graduating there in 1973 with a B.S. degree in Business Management.
Following graduation, John accepted a position with Suburban Transit Corporation, a large transportation company located in New Brunswick, NJ, where he relocated to. He served initially as Claims Manager and worked his way up to Safety and Risk Manager, a position
he held for many years.
John married Patricia Kilcoyne in 1977. First son Nicholas John was born on November 1, 1979, followed by Kristopher John on April 23, 1982. After they were divorced in 1985,
John carried on as a single parent for several years.
John married Lorna-Jane in 1991, having met at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, where they lived. John was drawn to L-J because of her beauty and love of singing. John and Lorna-Jane have worked together in the worship and music ministry of Holy Trinity since the 1980's. After serving many years as Worship Chair, John retired from the position in 2016. Seeing a need, however, he returned to duty in 2018 during the pastoral vacancy to serve on the Worship Team and continue as a deacon.
John's great love of trains and railroading has taken him to the countries of Japan and Germany, both of which have magnificent rail systems.
John is very proud of his two sons:
Nicholas attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and after graduation, the University of Vermont's School of Medicine in Burlington, VT. After serving in the US Navy as a flight surgeon, Nicholas completed residency training at NYU Langone Medical Center, and then fellowship training at Columbia University Medical Center. He is now a Board-Certified anesthesiologist subspecializing in Interventional Pain Medicine. Nick is married to Christy Hyun, a talented and accomplished artist.
Kristopher attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, where he earned both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree. After serving an internship in the music business, Kris decided to enter the field of public safety. He was accepted into the NJ State Police Training Academy. Kris graduated this difficult and demanding program and is now serving with the NJ State Police as a Detective at the Real Time Crime Center in Trenton, NJ. Kris is married to Andrea Jones, a devoted veterinarian.
John and Lorna-Jane love and are very proud of the grandchildren. Nick and Christy have two lovely daughters, Primrose and Clementine. Kris and Andrea have two children, Colton and Eleanor.
John and L-J enjoyed traveling to Japan and Europe several times.
John loved his family and is very proud of the accomplishments of his two sons, their wives, and of his wife Lorna-Jane, and he loved serving his church.
Soli Deo Gloria!