McGovern
Edward, age 97, former longtime resident of NJ, died on April 10, 2015. He was born in Jersey City, NJ on November 4, 1917.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years of D. Eleanor (nee Knapik), loving mother of Kevin (Denise), Patrice Guild (Greg), 5 adoring grandchildren and 3 cherished great-grandchildren and devoted sister of Murial McGovern.
Eddie was part of the generation that has been called the “Greatest Generation”. They lived through the Great Depression and then were called upon to sacrifice so much to fight and win WWII, so that we all could have the lives we now have.
I am proud of my father for this but I believe that what he did with the rest of his life makes him truly great. My Dad was an entrepreneur who started several businesses before settling in as a Service Station owner, which he did for nearly forth years.
Teddy Roosevelt said that the most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. My father has always had a knack for getting along with people. But he also worked long and hard days when Patrice and I were children. It was not unusual for him to leave by 6 in the morning and not return until 9 at night. Six days a week were the norm. I never heard him complain about how hard he worked and through this hard work he achieved a certain level of financial success. He did not work hard for how own success, however. Everything he earned went to benefit his family. We had everything we needed while growing up. He rarely took a vacation and never bought himself a new car.
His only hobby seemed to be encouraging his kids to work hard at school so we would not have to work as hard as he did as an adult.
He paid for our education simply because he thought it was the right thing to do for his kids. He is the most selfless person I know. I strive every day to be as good a man as he is.
Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing Friday evening 6 -7 P.M. at the D’Anjolell-Barone Memorial Home, 908 S. Providence Rd., Wallingford, PA 19086 and Saturday morning, all friends and family are welcome to attend his Interment at 11:30 A.M. at Holy Cross Cemetery, 340 Ridge Rd., N. Arlington, NJ 07031.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Edward’s memory may be made to Doctors Without Borders online at [email protected] /* */ would be appreciated.
Visitation Information
Date: Friday, April 17, 2015
Time: 06:00 pm
End Time: 07:00 pm
D’Anjolell-Barone Memorial Home
908 S. Providence Road
Wallingford, PA 19086
Service Information
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015
Time: 11:30 am
Holy Cross Cemetery
340 Ridge Road
North Arlington, NJ 07031
