John Tracy

JOHN TRACY, age 82 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, died Sunday, February 29, 2004 at the Hunterdon Care Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Following is an obituary prepared by Mr. Tracy's step-son:

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John Tracy, a resident of Raritan Township for the past twenty years, died on February 29th. Mr. Tracy was eight-two years of age, and had recently been resident at the Hunterdon Care Center.

He was born on April 10th, 1921 in the Bronx, New York, the son of John Tracy, Sr. and Theresa Moran, both of the Bronx. The Tracy family moved to the Springfield Gardens neighborhood of the Borough of Queens, New York in 1923, where their son was educated in New York City Public Schools.

In 1940, Mr. Tracy was graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, Queens. He enlisted in the United States Army in October 1940. Mr. Tracy was assigned to a wire laying team in the 1st Signal Company, which landed in North Africa on November 8th, 1942. His unit saw action throughout the North African and Sicilian campaigns. Mr. Tracy was recognized for his bravery under fire in the Tunisian campaign, where he worked an average of 15 hours a day (including stretches of as many as 52 hours without sleep) to maintain his division's telephone communications under heavy enemy bombardment. Upon the close of the Sicilian campaign on August 17th, 1943,Mr. Tracy's commanding officer recommended him for the Bronze Star, citing his "tireless efforts, resourcefulness, and unswerving devotion to duty." Mr. Tracy landed at Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944, at D-Day +1 hour. He worked under fire to assist in the set-up of communications lines that were necessary for the successful Allied campaigns in Normandy, Northern France,and the Rhineland.

For his service in the aforementioned campaigns, Mr.Tracy was awarded the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Unit Badge, the American Defense Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He received his Honorable Discharge, with the rank of Technician, 4th Grade, from the United States Army on June 23rd, 1945.

Shortly after his discharge, Mr. Tracy went to work for the New York Telephone Company. He was a telephone repairman operating out of New York Telephone locations in Astoria, Long Island City, and other areas of Queens for the next thirty-eight years. He retired from the New York Telephone

Company in 1984. Mr. Tracy was a longstanding member of the Telephone Pioneers of America (now known as Telecom Pioneers). Mr. Tracy was a member of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) from the time the New York Telephone Company was first organized in the late

1940s until his death. He walked a picket line during the New York Local of the CWA's seven-month strike against the New York Telephone Company during 1971 and 1972, and remained a loyal union member throughout his career and

retirement.

Mr. Tracy married Marion V. Stark (née Lohmuller) on June 25th, 1970. After their honeymoon, he moved from his boyhood home in Springfield Gardens to his wife's family's home in Maspeth, Queens, where he lived for the next fourteen years. When he married Mr. Tracy became the stepfather to his wife's three children, Patricia, Barbara, and Richard. They became a part of his family, which included his sister Rita and her husband John Lee, as well as their children Rita, John, and Robert. Mr. Tracy also had an older half-brother, Joseph Byrne of the Bronx, New York, who had a distinguished thirty-nine year career as a New York City Police Officer.

Mr. Tracy is survived by his wife, Marion V. Tracy of Raritan Township; his stepdaughter Patricia Hans and her husband Jack, of Maspeth, New York; his granddaughter Jaclyn Hans of Maspeth, New York; his stepdaughter Barbara

Stark of Bayside, New York; his stepson Richard Stark and Mr. Stark's wife Kim, of Bloomfield, New Jersey; his niece Rita Curcio and her husband Tony, of Plano, Texas; his nephew John Lee and Mr. Lee's wife Nancy, of Wilmington, Massachusetts; his nephew Robert Lee and Mr. Lee's wife Ann, of Huntington, New York; seven great-nieces and great-nephews, and one great-great-niece.

A memorial service for Mr. Tracy will be held in late April. His remains will be interred alongside those of his parents at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. In lieu of flowers his family requests that donations in Mr. Tracy's name be made to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation in Bedford, Virginia (www.dday.org).

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Interment will be in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY under the direction of the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. There will be no calling hours. A Memorial Service will be announced at a later date. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information.