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(October 13, 1942 - November 14, 2018)
Roy O. Poltersdorf, age 76 of Glenwood, N.J., passed away on Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 at his home.
Born in Paterson to the late Otto and Lillian (Martin) Poltersdorf, Roy will be remembered as a warm, inviting, dedicated family man and a loving husband, father, uncle, brother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was an avid Nebraska, Giants, Yankees, and Walkill Valley Rangers Fan.
Predeceased by his parents, Roy is survived by his loving wife, Carol (Kalker) Poltersdorf; sons Roy Jr. and wife Linda, Todd and wife Nicki, and Scott Poltersdorf and companion Dawn Thompson. He is also survived by his grandchildren Bryan and wife Laura, Samantha, Michael and companion Sean, Abby, Shane, Ashley, and Kassidy; great-grandchildren Eli, Emmitt, and Evelyn; as well as his sisters Donna DeFeo and Margaret Ledwith, and his brothers David and Thomas Poltersdorf.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. from Ferguson-Vernon Funeral Home 241 Rt. 94 (GPS use 1 Vanderhoof Ct.) Vernon. Friends may call at the funeral home on Monday from 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Sparta Presbyterian Church. For directions and online condolences, please see www.fergusonfuneralhomesnj.com.
[Published online in The Advertiser-News North November 16, 2018.] http://www.advertisernewsnorth.com/article/20181116/MILESTONES01/181119964/0/MILESTONES/Roy-O-Poltersdorf
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Eric Shaw [former Classmate]
Dear Roy and Carol,
To my best and oldest friend from age 12. I 'm so glad I got to see you and Carol one more time at the 55th reunion. Last month when we chatted almost an hour on our birthday, it was like memory lane. Thanks for all the fun times at TJ Jr. and FLHS. I will always cherish the memories (and I still say DiMaggio was better than Mantle).
Love, Eric
Charles (Chuck) Lazar
Roy and I go back to Jr. High. We played on JV football at Thomas Jefferson. I always admired Roy. He was more mature than the rest of the class. I guess I kind of looked up to him. At one of the reunions, I sat with him and Carol. that was a night of good memories. Carol, if you reed this my heart goes out to you. Chuck Lazar
Ronald Thompson
Sad to hear about Roy Polterdorf’s passing. My earliest recollection of Roy, now with my brain cells tiring, was when we were at Thomas Jefferson. He wasn’t in any of my classes that I recall but we both went out for football. His notice says he was born the year before me and that explains his strength. While he was short, like his parents, he was very fast and strong. He played half back. He was tough to catch and bring down because of his low center of gravity. I remember during one practice he ran my way with some interference in front of him. I side-stepped the interference and BAM he just ran right over me. I held on for dear life. I felt like I was knocked out but I somehow managed to hold on and bring him down. The next thing I remember while still flat on my back was the coach yelling “Way to tackle Thompson.” All I could think was if this is football maybe I should go out for tennis. Anyway, Roy and I became friends.
Roy lived on Jasper Rd. near Saddle River Rd. Jasper Rd also was the home for Fred Conti and Neal Copper, both the year ahead of Roy and I, so he had some good role models for football players. Ken Kaprelian, my friend from Radburn School, also became Roy’s friend. We hung out together started smoking because it was cool. That was 1958 and a tune from the time very popular then was “Big Man” by the Four Preps. It was a nice tune musically but I never knew all the words. In any case, we were big men smoking! One of the places we would go was the tunnel on Howard Ave between two parts of Radburn that kids used to avoid the cars on the streets. It was great place to sneak a smoke without adults watching. Shortly after that I quit before I had to start buying my own! Roy continued smoking and the coaches didn’t like that at all.
Sometime while at TJ Roy met Carol Kalker or I became aware they were dating. With Roy everything revolved around Carol. I thought it was a teenage thing. But after 60+ years I guess it was the REAL DEAL! Congratulations to them.
After high school I only saw Roy twice. Once my company sent some of us to a training session on “Coaching for Improved Work Performance” at the old Playboy Hotel and Golf Course in West Milford(?). I guess they thought I was salvageable. The course (training not the golf) wasn’t a complete day so as I left, I spotted Roy, who was working there managing some aspect of the place. We had a very enjoyable conversation catching up on our lives.
The second and last time I saw Roy was at, I believe, our 50th Reunion. Ken was there as well so we had a great time reminiscing. We took pictures of all of us to commemorate the occasion. The lasting impression I have of Roy is his good-natured attitude about things, his love for Carol and his smiling face. I hope his transition to the great good night was peaceful.
Ron