Lawrence Stephen Craven, 68, of Northvale, NJ passed away on February 7th following a valiant battle with cancer.
Beloved husband of 42 years of Mary Beth Craven, devoted father to Stephen and wife Jennifer of Tinton Falls, NJ and Patrick and wife Casey of Moorestown, NJ, and loving grandfather to Clara (5), Dexter (3), Fiona (2) and Kodiak (1). Larry is also survived by his sister Christine, his brothers-in-law Daniel and wife Peggy Judge and Steve Judge, 10 dear nieces and nephews, his aunt Clare Craven and many cousins.
He was predeceased by his parents, Lawrence and Evelyn Craven.
Larry was a graduate of Blair Academy and St. Peter’s College. He spent his career working in Employee Benefits at Kwasha-Lipton, Becton Dickinson and MetLife. After retiring, Larry became an EMT and joined the Northvale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where he served terms as President and Captain, among others. He was also the treasurer of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County. Previously he served on the Board of Trustees of the James F. McGuire Senior Citizen Center and the Academic Decathlon. He had been involved in Boy Scouts and was Soccer director and coach for soccer and baseball teams. He was an active parishioner of St. Anthony’s Church in Northvale and was a Eucharistic Minister there.
He enjoyed travel, especially many genealogy-based trips to find his and his wife’s family ancestry. He loved the Berkshires which he visited annually, especially for the classical music at Tanglewood. He also loved to golf and watch birds. He relished his role as a grandfather and his grandkids were crazy about him and will miss him very much.
Viewing will be Wednesday, February 11th at Pizzi Funeral Home located at 120 Paris Avenue, Northvale at 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm. The Funeral Mass celebrating his life will be held at St. Anthony’s Church in Northvale, NJ, Thursday, February 12th at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Berkshire Sanctuaries and the Northvale Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
www.pizzifuneralhome.com