John T. Wirth

FUNERAL HOME

Robert Spearing Funeral Home Inc.

155 Kinderkamack Road

Park Ridge, New Jersey

John Wirth Obituary

Name: Visitation for John T. Wirth
Start: 2021-02-28T18:00:00.000Z
End: 2021-02-28T20:00:00.000Z
Location: Robert Spearing Funeral Home Inc.

John T. Wirth

Afton, TN - John T. Wirth of Afton, TN and formerly of Park Ridge and Montvale, NJ passed away on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at the age of 73. Beloved husband for 39 years of the late Cheryl Lee (Eckerson). Devoted father of Suzanne Wirth, Kathleen Reiner, and Pamela Poliandro (Salvatore). Dear brother of Christine Wirth and Virginia Michaels (Phillip). Cherished grandfather of Nikolaus, Annaliese, Salvatore, Alexis, and John, and bonus grandfather of Priscella, Katherine, Christopher, Nicholas, and Sophia. Before retiring in 2004, John worked for BMW for 33 years. He served in the US Army from 1966 to 1968, initially assigned to Vincenza, Italy as a Wheeled and Tracked Vehicle Mechanic. In 1967, he volunteered for Vietnam, where he served in the 9th Infantry during the Tet offensive. Following his Army service, John became a proud member of American Legion Corporal Jedh C Barker Post No 153, in Park Ridge, NJ. He was a dedicated fireman for 57 years and was a member of the Montvale, NJ, Park Ridge, NJ, and Newmansville, TN fire departments. Funeral Mass 10 AM on Monday, March 1, 2021 at St. Margaret of Antioch R. C. Church, Pearl River, NY followed by Interment in Ascension Cemetery, Airmont, NY. Visitation 1-3 PM on Sunday, February 28, 2021 at the Robert Spearing Funeral Home, Inc., 155 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge, NJ rsfhi.com

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in John's name to the Montvale, NJ, Park Ridge, NJ, or Newmansville, TN Fire Department.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Record/Herald News from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for John Wirth

Sponsored by Robert Spearing Funeral Home Inc..

8 Entries

Ed Ballanco

March 5, 2021

(This is a more complete version of the words I said for John at the cemetery.)
A tribute to our Best Man and my Best Friend.
I suspect that most of you considered John a friend and many of you considered John a best friend. There was a good reason for that, John was a friend to all. As Woody Shuff pointed out, John was the hub to a group of friends with the rest of us as the spokes.
So, what is a friend? The Oxford English Dictionary defines friend as, “A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection” and “A person who is not an enemy or who is on the same side.”
The OED also defines a proverb. “A person who helps at a difficult time is a truly reliable person.” These definitions describe John.
I remember exactly where I was when I first met John. It was on a Sunday morning, at the convent on Pascack Road in Park Ridge. It was either after Sunday School, or while registering for Sunday School. Our fathers had recently joined the fire department and met when picking us up. As they talked, John and I ran around, climbing over trees and having a grand old time. What impressed me most about John was that although he was two years older than me, which at six years old made him a big kid, he never treated me as a little kid. He treated me as a friend.
Meeting at Sunday School also started a lifelong joint religious devotion that lasted until his last day when he asked for my prayers.
After our first meeting, fast forward to when I was 12 years old, and I joined the Montvale Boy Scout Troop 126. John was already a Boy Scout and was the Troop bugler, playing Taps at the end of each meeting.
I was in John’s Patrol and we met occasionally at his house on Spring Valley Road. I remember my Mom taking me to the patrol meetings and picking me up after the meetings were over. Usually, I was able to spend one on one time with John.
What we both learned from being in the Boy Scouts was how to grow up to be real men. Consider the Boy Scout Oath: “To do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
The Scout Law "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent."
John abided by both the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. He was honest to a fault, and never sugar-coated things. His honesty is what made him a true friend.
Next, John became a charter member of the Montvale Junior Fire Department and I joined in 1964, when I turned 15 . What was not to like about being a Junior Fireman. What a thrill racing to the fire house to get on a fire truck and then riding to a fire with the lights and sirens blasting. We knew it was serious business, but we learned a lot and got to be around some fine people. We also saw how real men acted when doing the tough jobs. We learned that they all spoke their minds and argued their opinions, but when it was all over, they sat down and had a beer together.
John was a natural fireman, even then. He was fearless, except when it came to climbing ladders, a great mechanic and loved trucks. The juniors took charge of the 1935 Seagrave, the utility truck at the time. We kept it clean and learned to drive it. It was a great experience. This is the same truck that lives on now, after John restored it many years later.
About this time, John got his drivers license and his first car was a 55 Chevy. It was a real hot rod with a 327 engine. We all had our “hot” cars and John helped most of us keep them running.
John graduated from high school in 1965 and in 1966, the Army came calling, and drafted John. After training, he was sent to Vincenza Italy where he was a mechanic. I did not find out until much later that he maintained long range nuclear missiles. We exchanged letters and it was apparent that John did not like his assignment to Italy and wanted out. As things were heating up in Vietnam, John marched to the sound of the guns and volunteered for Vietnam. Arriving in 1967, things appeared to be somewhat quiet for him, that is until the Tet offensive started on my birthday in early 1968. When I wrote to ask John if he had any problems or had been hurt, he used all the bravado he could muster to let me know his worst injury was when he cut himself with a beer can opener. It was not until years later that he told the true, more hair-raising stories that he and some of his friends encountered when the offensive started.
John finished his Army service at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Since it was relatively close, he was able to get away on weekends to come back to Montvale. When he did finish with the Army, he bought his Z-28. This was a real step up from the 55 Chevy and we had a lot of fun with our cars at the time. We also started following the races and took trips to Watkins Glen, Bridgeport, Laconia and Mt Tremblant in Canada. Charlie Meese remembers the story of us going through the gate into the race area with him hiding under the sleeping bags in the back of the Z-28. Then we raised an American flag over our tent in the middle of the French Canadians. We survived and even had a great time.
When the ladies enter the picture, we began to settle down a little. Eileen and Cheryl became friends. They shared an apartment, in Montvale, until the time Eileen and I got married. John was our best man. I returned the favor and was the best man for John and Cheryl a little while later.
This cemented the relationship of not only John and me, but our families for nearly the next half century.
Monsignor Turro, now 99 years old, was with us at Our Lady of Mercy as we grew up. I always loved Father Turro as he was reverent and always gave short sermons. In fact, he taught me to not daydream and pay attention right from the beginning of his sermons because they were short and powerful.
Monsignor Turro married Eileen and me going on 48 years ago. A few years later he published a book of Reflections that we read every year during lent. It happens we came across two readings last week that reminded us of John. The first is titled He Passed By.
We know that John passed by because he impacted all our lives in a positive way.
As a final tribute, the next reflection, “Love One Another As I ” says it all.
John loved us all. He was present to us in times of suffering and in the good times. His presence definitely enlarged our happiness. We were blessed with his friendship.
Rest in peace John!
Ed, Williamsburg VA

Louis Turli

March 2, 2021

Great guy. Always a gentleman.

Bob Tulp

March 1, 2021

I didn't know John all that long maybe 5 or 6 years but you knew the minute you met him what a good guy he was . I had the pleasure of working along with him plowing snow for Montvale Landscaping and it was always good running into him here and there . In a conversation I was having with Joe Mauro a Local Fire Inspector and a long time Fireman a while back John's name came up and Joe said to me "there are certain guys that if he had to go into a burning building with and John Wirth would be one of those men"...I think that is quite a testimony to who John Wirth was !
Rest in Peace John and God Bless You and Your Family Always .
Bob Tulp - Montvale NJ

Cheryl Bienert

March 1, 2021

I worked with John at BMW. He was a very respected gentleman. May he rest in peace.

Ann Levitzki

February 25, 2021

John was one of my closest friends. He was the guy that would make time to help anyone with anything He was my MacGyver countless times. John was a lover of practical jokes and ribbing. You were in trouble if he found your weak spot - because he could be relentless! John loved projects - his 68 Camaro and the Seagrave were his pride and joy. He meticulously restored each to their original condition. They were absolutely beautiful when he was finished. John had many more projects to do. He has left us much too soon.

John was brave, strong, smart, kind, compassionate, giving and so much more. I am a better person for having known him.

John was my friend.

Edward J. Ballanco

February 24, 2021

John was my godfather, and he kept in close touch with me my entire life. I always looked at John as the kind of man who built America. He was tough and dutiful. If we were at war, he'd fight for you. If your house was on fire, he'd rescue you. If your car was broken, he'd fix it for you. Our country is worse off without him.

Love, Harry and Arden

Sent Flowers

Bill and Mary Diedtrich

February 23, 2021

So very sorry for your loss. Was so happy that we got to have a nice visit from him in November. Your all in our thoughts and prayers.❤
Bill snd Mary Diedtrich.

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