Obituary of Gerard Thomas

THOMAS, Gerard J., 78, of Midland Park, NJ passed away on November 25, 2008. Jerry was born in Cliffside Park, NJ and lived in Midland Park for the last 50 years. He is the beloved husband of Gloria (nee Blanchfield) and the loving father of Michael Thomas and his wife Eileen of Hillsdale, Maryalice (Thomas) Hagerty and her husband Tom of Midland Park, Chris Thomas and his wife Derna of Mansfield, MA, Tim Thomas and his wife Laura of Midland Park and Peter Thomas and his wife Jamie of Coopersburg, PA. He is also the devoted grandfather of Michael, Marc, Katie, Patrick, Jake, Grace, Angela, Tim, Kayla, Maggie, Josie, Ryan and Andrew. He is the brother of Margaret Dorney, Harold Thomas, and Anne DeGasperis. He was pre-deceased by his parents Charles and Josephine Thomas as well as his brother Charlie. Jerry graduated from NYU with Bachelor and Master's Degrees. He served his country with U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. He started his career at Midland Park High School in 1957 and concluded his career in 1993 as Vice Principal of Pascack Hills High School in Montvale. Jerry was an active member of Presentation Parish and a volunteer at Valley Hospital for 13 years. Friends may visit with the family on Friday, November 28 from 2-4, 7-9 PM at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 29, 2008 at the Church of the Presentation, 271 West Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Private Cremation will be held. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made in Jerry's memory to the Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia at NYU Medical Center, Development Office, 1 Park Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016. www.vpfh.com