John H. Traynor Jr.

John H. Traynor, Jr., 96, of Westfield, NJ, passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning, August 3, 2019. Son of the late John H. Traynor Sr., a former Postmaster of Westfield, and Adelaide Veronica O'Connor, he was born October 29, 1922 in Westfield, NJ and was a lifelong resident. He was the grandson of Patrick Traynor who was the Proprietor of P. Traynor and Sons Groceries and Provisions, which was a popular grocery store in Westfield from the 1870’s until the Great Depression.

John is survived by his wife of 59 years, Arline Shuster, and his five children, John H. Traynor III (Suzanne Wells), Patrick Traynor (Patricia Philbin), Mary Traynor, Carol Traynor (John Ko), and Michael Traynor (Karen Coates). He was the world’s greatest Pop-Pop to his 9 grandchildren Sara, Kristina, Christopher, Kimberly, Kenneth, Ian, Hayley, Benjamin, and Olivia.

He was predeceased by his sisters Dorothea T. Nelson, Florence Palmieri, and Bernice Lynch.
John attended Holy Trinity Parochial School and graduated from Holy Trinity High School Westfield class of ’41. He was a graduate of St. Peter’s College class of ‘47, Jersey City. John was a WWII veteran (Army 797th Military Police Battalion), a longtime member and officer in the Catholic War Veterans Post 361 and member of the Knights of Columbus of Rahway and Westfield.

John, also known as “JT” or “Jack” to his family, friends and co-workers, retired from Texaco, in 1982 after 34 years, where he was Supervisor of Administration in the marine department. He then worked part-time at Norwood Auto Parts, Westfield. He spent his retirement years going to daily mass at The Church of St. Helen in Westfield where he was an usher until well into his 80’s. He enjoyed spending time with his family, and doing and caring for others. He was also a devout communicant of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Westfield prior to St. Helen’s where he enjoyed helping with bingo and other activities for many years for the church and school.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2019, 10 AM at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Westfield. Burial services will follow at Fairview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to The Parish Community of St. Helen in Westfield or The Center for Hope Hospice (www.cfhh.org).