Michael C. Dandrow

Michael C. Dandrow, age 89, passed away on April 12, 2024, at his home in National Park, where he's lived since 1958.
Mike was born and raised in Rochester, NH where life, as told through his many stories, was a true adventure, exploring and hitchhiking across NH and ME while also working in the mills and other odd jobs as a boy right through his high school years.
After high school he joined the Marines and served until 1957. He often commented on how fortunate he was that his service allowed him to travel the world visiting many wonderful countries and experiencing the wonder of night skies from aboard a ship crossing the oceans.
And then he hitchhiked, quite literally, into a brand new life, meeting his bride as he was trying to make it home for a summer weekend. Their paths intersected when he changed course on a rainy June night and Betty Stumm and her mom were traveling down the road from their home in Philadelphia to their shore house in Wildwood Crest, NJ. Her mom told Betty to pick up that poor soldier standing in the rain, and the rest, as they say, is history. They were married one year to the day on June 1, 1957.
Michael was employed at A&P Warehouse in Yeadon, PA upon the completion of his military service. Betty and Mike began married life in Philadelphia until moving into their brand new home in National Park where he also served as a part time police officer.
Four daughters came between 1958 and 1965, and they've all stayed close, building their families close to the family home.
In 1967, Mike started working with Texaco in West Deptford, where he stayed for nearly 30 years as an operator on the Catalytic Cracking Unit retiring in 1996. Mike loved his career and did well, putting all four daughters through college, thereby helping them launch their own careers.
He was a longtime member of St. Matthew's Church in National Park and a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Michael is predeceased by his wife Elizabeth (Stumm), and siblings Margaret Grant, Robert and Herbert Dandrow, and Rose Thomas. He is survived by his four daughters, Elizabeth "Betsy" Dandrow (Thomas Mosolovich), Susan "Susie"
(Richard) Sherrer, Catherine Dandrow (Zigmund Biernacki), Carol (John) Rhoda and
grandchildren, Thomas, Elizabeth, Kathryn "Kate," Richard "Rick", Lauren (Daniel), Julian, Paul, Mikayla, and Zachary.
Our dad embodied great strength in body, mind, and spirit. His strength was inspirational and challenging at the same time. Dad always showed up. He was where you needed him to be: car accidents, gall bladder attacks, breakups, new babies, a glass of wine, dinner. You could always count on him to show up and be there for you or his neighbor.
He appreciated the everyday: his morning coffee, reading the paper front to back, playing cards, taking in a sunset at RiverWinds or the Battlefield, the moonrise, passing a word. He didn't need or want to be entertained. In his later years he could sit and reminisce alone, either in his comfy chair or a lounge in the sun in his yard and be very content.
Funeral mass will be at 11am on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 in St. Matthew's Church (Holy Angels Parish), 4th Street and Monument Avenue, National Park, NJ.
Interment Eglington Cemetery.