Obituary of Thomas William Steinitz

THOMAS WILLIAM STEINITZ On Thursday, April 30, 2020, Tom, 71, of Manalapan, NJ/Bakersfield, VT went to be with the love of his life, Sandy, after 33 years without her. He was born in Irvington, NJ, August 19, 1948 son of the late Frank & Helen (Kulbick) Steinitz. Tom was a member of Our Lady of Mercy Church, Englishtown and the CYO. His love of sports started while playing for Englishtown Little League, Manalapan Senior League then Varsity Baseball & Football at Freehold Regional High School. He was an avid New York Yankees, Giants, and Rangers fan until the very end sharing his love for each of these teams with his kids and grandkids. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Monmouth College, was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and taught CCD at Our Lady of Mercy for years. On August 8, 1970, he married his high school sweetheart, Sandy. Tom enjoyed fishing with his father, Frank & father-in-law, Steve as well as many backpacking trips and family camping weekends. He was President of Carlin & Steinitz Plumbing Supplies in Piscataway, NJ until he & Sandy made their dream move to Vermont. Their dream to be together in VT was cut short but Tom managed as a single Dad with the help of close friends, Rebecca & Louise. Tom stayed in the plumbing and heating field working for Sweet & Burt, RL Vallee, Inc & Ultramar until he was unable to. As a member of VAST, he always enjoyed grooming the trails with Ivan, Skip & Ted. Tom’s love of baseball led him to coach Little League Baseball for his sons’ teams and later behind the plate to umpire many Georgia Little League games for his grandsons’ teams. Tom is survived by his daughters & sons-in-law, Patti & Carl Laroe of Georgia, VT; Kim & Jordan Dana of Allenwood, NJ, and sons TJ & Jonathan of Bakersfield, VT. Grandchildren, Carlton, Alexis, Hunter, and Myah Laroe and Kaya and Ava Dana. Brothers Jim & Mickey Steinitz of Collingswood, NJ; Ken & Judy Steinitz of Manalapan, NJ; sister, Sue Davis of Fort Walton Beach, FL, and sister-in-law, Joy Rudman of New Bern, NC. Mother-in-law, Terry Csurbak of Monroe, NJ; sisters-in-law, Terry & Duke Tedesco of Englishtown, NJ; Nancy Csurbak of Monroe, NJ; Fran Daddio of Helmetta, NJ; Pokee Csurbak of Ranchos De Taos, NM and special cousins-in-law Nancy Lynn Caruso of Jackson, NJ and Elaine Russell & Larry Thomas Valparaiso, IN. Tom was preceded in death by his wife, Sandy; father, Frank; mother, Helen; brother, Frank (Herky); father-in-law, Steve; brother-in-law, Steve (Butch). Tom also leaves behind cousins and several nieces/nephews and great-nieces/nephews. We are forever grateful for the bond that continued between Dad and his childhood friends; Tom Lenahan, Rex Lazewski, and Ray Totten. Thank you to the wonderful caring Bayside nursing staff at Crest Pointe Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center who stayed by Tom’s side during his final days when we could not be there. Celebrations of Tom’s life will be held at later dates when we can all gather both in New Jersey & Vermont. Please consider making a memorial contribution in memory of Tom to the American Parkinson Disease Association at apdaparkinson.org or Michael J. Fox Foundation at https://www.michaeljfox.org/ . Higgins Memorial Home, Freehold is in charge of arrangements.