Joseph C. Lauer Jr.

Known to his friends and family as Mickey, he was born on November 5th, 1932 in Bayonne, New Jersey to his parents Joseph and Cecelia Lauer, and raised alongside his two sisters, Louise and Francis. He graduated from Bayonne Technical High School in 1950, then enlisted in the U.S. Army throughout the Korean War between 1953-1955. After returning home, Mickey began his career as a Tool Maker, working for Damascus Tool + Die, and later for Hayward Pool Products before retiring in 1996.

In 1955, Mickey fell head over heels after his future wife, Alma (Kopaz) Lauer, also known as Honey, after she tripped him at a local Bayonne dance hall. They were married on October 26th, 1957 at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Bayonne, NJ. Together, they went on to have six children; Joseph Lauer, Bernadette (Rick) Watson, Michael (Heidi) Lauer, Richard (Christine) Lauer, John (Celia) Lauer, and Jennifer Lauer. His family continued growing to include nine grandchildren; Nicholas (Sarah) Watson, Danielle (Jake) Fernandez, Tim Watson, Cass Lauer, Michael Lauer, Jr., Jaimee Lauer, Erinn Lauer, Matthew Lauer, and Gabriella Lauer; as well as two great grandchildren; Nolan and Colton Fernandez.

After moving his family to Union, NJ, Mickey became an active member of his community and remained involved up until his final days. He joined the NJ Veterans Network and his local VFW chapter as Vice Commander Secretary, with whom he regularly marched in the Union Township Memorial Day Parade. He was a Cub Scout Leader for his sons’ troops, as well as a CYO Basketball coach. Mickey also coached Little League for each of his sons’ baseball teams, and later came out of retirement to coach Little League for his grandsons as well. He participated in a Thursday Night Bowling league with his co-workers at Hayward Pool Products, and was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Union Township Senior Softball League, the Union Township Senior Citizens Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday Clubs as a Bingo caller on Fridays, the 60+ Club of the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church as a 50/50 Chair.

A storyteller at heart, Mickey loved sharing stories of his life with whoever would listen, so much so that he was known to repeat one or two… or three or four; such as anecdotes from his time overseas, tales from his younger years like earning a pretzel for carrying buckets of beer alongside his grandfather, or even bursting out into song from the good ol’ days. Mickey loved spending time with his family; whether splitting a bottle of wine over dinner with his Honey, on fishing or golfing trips with his boys, at family barbecues by the pool in the summertime, and picking pumpkins from his garden with his grandkids around Halloween; all while recording everything on his camcorder.

A visitation is planned for Thursday, January 18th from 3:00-7:00 PM at McCracken Funeral Home in Union, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the New Jersey Veterans Network, an organization Mickey was a member of and felt strongly about.