Obituary of Warren H. Shadek

WARREN HARVEY SHADEK, 96, passed away on November 5, 2022, peacefully at his home.  His children were at his bedside when the Lord called.

Warren was born in Jersey City on the day after Christmas in 1925 to Arthur and Wilhelmina Shadek.  He had an older brother, Arthur, and a younger brother, Edward. 

The family moved to Teaneck in the late 1920’s.  Teaneck was a municipality in northern NJ that became a bedroom community to New York City when the George Washington Bridge was opened in 1931.

Warren attended the public school system and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1943.  He enrolled in the Junior College of Bergen County and completed a pre-engineering course before entering the United States Army one year later.

After brief basic training at Fort McClellan, AL, Warren was assigned to a Signal Corps unit at North Carolina State College under the Army Specialized Training Program.  In the fall of 1945, after the war was over, the unit was disbanded and Warren finished his Army career with short stints at Camp Crowder, MO, and Fort Monmouth, NJ.  He was honorably discharged in 1946.

Warren completed his undergraduate studies at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ which awarded him a Mechanical Engineering degree with Honors.  He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania in 1951.

His engineering career spanned 34 years: eight years with the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company in Brooklyn, NY, and 26 years with the Lederle Laboratories Division of the American Cyanamid Company in Pearl River, NY.  Warren retired in 1985.

Warren met his future wife – Marilyn Emma Leers also of Teaneck – on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend.  It was love at first sight.  They were married ten months later on December 20, 1958 at the Teaneck Community Church with the late W. Carman Trenberth officiating the service.  The couple initially settled in Bergenfield, NJ and shortly thereafter moved to Oradell, NJ, where their four children attended school.

Warren was active in school and civic activities.  He and his wife attended many activities involving their children: school plays, athletic events, PTA meetings, back-to-school nights, and teacher conferences.  They encouraged their children to pursue their dreams.  Warren was active in church affairs, serving as an elder of the Community Church of Teaneck, the Reformed Church of Oradell, and the First Congregational Church of River Edge.  He was also President of the Oradell Little League and the Oradell Swim Club.

After retirement, Marilyn and Warren traveled extensively between the North and South Poles and around the Equator.  They spent over 1,000 days on Holland America ships, including three world tours, visited 150 countries, and made many long-time friends.  They resettled in Cedar Crest Village, an Erickson retirement community in Pompton Plains, NJ.

Warren was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn, and his brothers Arthur and Edward.  He is survived by his children and grandchildren: Patricia Platten, husband Robert, and daughter Lynley; Peter, wife Lisa, son Christopher, and daughter Kathryn; Karen Carroll, husband John, son Graeme, and twin son and daughter Braeden and Kristyn; and Kenneth, wife Kim, sons Daniel and Justin, and daughter Gabriella.

Warren has now joined his wife of 57 years at the George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, NJ.  Services were private.

The family would appreciate donations in lieu of flowers be made to our grandmother’s charitable trust:  Marian Craig Leers Charitable Trust, c/o Karen Carroll, 19 Tower Hill Lane, Kinnelon, NJ  07405