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Dear family and friends,
Besides letting you know about Max Pladek’s funeral
arrangements, many people wanted to know more about Max’s family history and
the circumstances leading to his passing.
Over the last month, Max developed a number of problems
that included: skin rashes, edema in his legs, severe itching, and general
fatigue. To fight a general immune
system breakdown, strong medications were used to control his skin rashes that
were accompanied by severe itching over large portions of his body.
On 1/16/2008, Max was admitted to Jersey Shore Medical Center. Three days
later he lost the battle to sepsis at 8PM on 1/19/2008.
Max is survived by his wife: Mary Ruane Pladek; three sons:
Kelvin Granberg, Ronald H. Pladek, and Robert B. Pladek; two daughters-in-law,
Elizabeth Pladek, Christine Granberg; two brothers-in-law: James Ruane and
Joseph Ruane; three sisters in-law: Annabelle, Fran, and Arlene; five
grand-children: Randy, Rachel,
Noeleen, Serena, and John Paul; nine great-grandchildren: Myles, McKenzie,
Schuyler, Sarah, Faith, Christopher, Luke, Dominic and Joey.
Born in Jersey City, NJ on July 24, 1914, the son of Anna Hecker and Reinhold Pladek, Max grew up with seven brothers and sisters (Oscar, Emil, Martha, Olga, Teddy, Charlie, and Annie) on a farm on Locust Lake Road in Mount Herman, NJ. After he and Emily were married on Sept. 21, 1940, they moved to Kearny, NJ and were married for 33 years until Emily’s death from cancer on November 16, 1973. As a side note: Max told a very interesting story about how he and Emily got married. It seems that Emily and he were walking down Locust Lake Road near the farm where they grew up and Emily asked Max what was he doing later that day. He said, “Nothing”; she said, “Do you want to get married?” He said, “……… well ok, when?” She said, “Right now, my mother is with the parson making the arrangements.” So, they went to the local Methodist Church just up the road and Emily’s parents Aaron and Vesta Howell witnessed the wedding. (Now that’s a story that you don’t hear everyday.)
Moving onto another union that was orchestrated by
the restaurant owner at Carbone’s in Harrison, NJ, Max met Mary in 1976 while
she was attending an American Cancer Society meeting; they were married on March
19, 1977. They moved from Kearny, NJ to Stroudsburg, PA and then to Toms River,
NJ. In 2005, they moved to St.
Barnabas Assisted Living in Lakewood, NJ and in 2006 to Colts Neck Village that
specializes in impaired memory care. Max and Mary were married for 31 years at
his death on January 19, 2008.
It was Max’s wishes that his surviving wife, Mary, be cared for in the most dignified way possible for the memory impaired; Mary now resides in Alcoeur Assisted Living, 320 Herbertsville Road, Brick, NJ, 08724, 732-840-0940, which is a brand new state-of-the-art facility that was built in 2007 specifically to care for those with Alzheimer’s. Mary mentioned to me earlier this week that she thought Max might have died, but she quickly moved onto other happy thoughts of the day, which is a real blessing. In spite of Alzheimer’s, Mary’s warm and inviting personality is loved by the staff and she continues to remember early childhood events, especially her brothers and sisters, loves to listen to my worn out jokes, and she sings the oldies but goodies – a universal medicine to be sure.
As a young man entering the workforce during the
great depression, Max tells the story that he took the train from the farm where
he grew up in Mount Herman, to West New York where he walked past people
standing on bread lines and entered the first auto repair shop he saw to ask for
a job. The owner sneered at him
suggesting that he was crazy to ask for a job with so many out of work.
Max’s reply was simple: “Try me out for a month at no pay. If you don’t
like my work, it costs you nothing, if you like my work pay me whatever you feel
is fair.” The owner was more than
impressed, so he gave Max a job on the spot and Max continued his employment in
that auto repair shop to save money and educate himself as a machinist degree at
the Delahanty Institute in New York.
With that degree, Max got a job working at machining Navy valve threads during WW2. The behemoth lathe that he worked on was over 13 feet tall and each valve could weigh 500 pounds and measure up to 3 feet in diameter. Max was given a presidential exemption from the military to support the WW2 war effort because his skill was rare in operating this large machine. He worked for the next 8 years, 6 days a week in this capacity.
After this time, Max moved on to the Textile Cutting Company, in Paterson, NJ and later moved to Beaumont Industries in Totowa, NJ where he retired as the head of mechanical engineering. He loved everything about machines and learning about new technologies that relate to cutting and processing cloth and plastic. He also had a small machine shop in his basement where he continued to handle small jobs during his retirement years. You could always count on hearing about a machine story when you visited Max.
Everyone who knew Max immediately saw a man who
enjoyed life, loved learning about new discoveries in medicine, the world around
him, and space exploration; he faithfully read Popular Mechanics, National
Geographic, and, of course, Reader’s Digest.
Meeting people, and celebrating the successes of his children,
grandchildren, and great grandchildren were the delight of his later life.
Max shared photos and stories and received great pleasure from these
simple things. He was an avid
gardener and resurrected countless plants.
His granddaughters yards are growing the fruits of his labors.
Max enjoyed a good meal (all the time) and upheld life’s simple principle to always do the right thing and treat people, as you want them to treat you. In my personal work with Hospice over the years, I have witnessed many examples of a soul either seeing or talking with family members that have passed on before. As Max carried his own personal cross for the last three days of his life, I can tell you that he was serious about one thing: the business of organizing his workshop, putting new supplies away on the proper shelves, and arranging many of his tools so that they would not get lost. It sounds a bit bizarre if you’re not used to it, however it was his reality to get ready to leave this world, so I helped him organize his “imaginary” shop while he was still conscious lying in a hospital bed.
Max entered the Catholic Church in 1985 and was confirmed in St. Luke’s Church, Stroudsburg, PA at the same time as his granddaughter Serena. Max received the Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick two days before he died and the Sacrament of Reconciliation three hours before he died. My last words to him were that I loved him, and that I was proud to call him my father.
Max loved God, read the Bible, attended Church regularly, and was a faithful husband for over 64 years. It is an honor to know him as a man of principle, but even a greater honor to call him my Father. He will be missed, but the love he had for his family will continue on through generations to come.
FUNERAL DETAILS:
St. Jude’s Church
7 Eisenhower Road
Columbia, NJ 07832
908-362-6444
FRIDAY: February 22, 2008
TIME: 10:30AM
DIRECTIONS: Take Route 80 East from the Delaware Water Gap about five miles to the junction of Routes 46, 94 and 80. Take Route 94 North 4.3 miles; the Church in on the left side street with a large sign pointing to the turnoff.
CEMETARY:
(cars will follow together from Church)
Fairview Cemetery Association
Dean Road
Mount Herman, NJ
TIME: 11:30AM