Gerardine Grace Vogt MacLean of Vernon passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, with her family by her side. She was 99.
Gerry was the daughter of Charles and Margaret Vogt. She was born in Newark and graduated from Eastside High School.
She received her Bachelor of Science from Douglass College in 1943 and worked as a nutritionist for the government.
Gerry married George MacLean in 1944 and moved to Lyndhurst in 1945.
She made lifelong friends who would shop together every Tuesday, was part of the North Arlington bowling league and served on the Lyndhurst PTA for more than 40 years.
In 1948, she and George discovered a small lake in Vernon from an ad in the newspaper. This summer cabin in Lake Wallkill grew into additional properties, including those of her mother, sister, children and grandchildren, and a lifetime of beautiful memories from days by the beach to card parties to Regatta. She made Lake Wallkill her permanent residence in 2013.
Just a few days shy of 100, Gerry lived a full and rich life as a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was the matriarch of her family and loved by all who knew her. Her home was always open and the lollipop jar on the counter was always full.
She is survived by her sister, Judy Kelly of Lake Wallkill; her three children, Carol (Peter) DeVita of Fredon, Robert (Karen) MacLean of Lake Wallkill and Debbie (Thomas) Lynch of Lake Wallkill; seven grandchildren, Steve (Candice) MacLean, Christine (Brian) O’Connor, Katie (Mike) Fiorentino; Danielle (Michael) McWilliams, Tom MacLean, Paul Lynch and Jayme Lynch; and 12 great-grandchildren, Emma, Cole and Addyson O’Connor; Chase, Brielle, Aspen, Calla and Cooper MacLean, Arianna and Dominic Fiorentino; and Reese and Remi McWilliams.
Friends may pay their respects to the family on Thursday, Dec. 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Pinkel Funeral Home, 31 Bank St. (Route 23), Sussex. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Dec. 16 at St. Francis De Sales R.C. Church, 614 Route 517, Vernon, at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Gerardine MacLean to the Washington School PTA (playground fund), 709 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071.
Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.pinkelfuneralhome.com