Obituary of Ed Blejwas

Edwin “Ed” Blejwas passed away surrounded by family on Jan. 3, 2025 at Fellowship Village in Basking Ridge.  He was 93years old.

Born in 1931 to Andrew Blejwas and Cecilia (Lewandowski) Blejwas, Ed was the ninth of ten children.  He grew up in Rahway and Clark NJ.  After graduating high school, he served in the Air Force for two years, including a one-year stint with the weather service in Iceland.  In 1963 he met his future wife Judy while on a ski trip to Stowe, Vermont.  They were married later that year and spent 45 years together until Judy’s death in 2008.  In 1965 they moved to a new home in Basking Ridge, which Ed helped to design and build.  Ed continued working on the house over the years, expanding it as he and Judy filled it with six children. 

Ed began work as a draftsman for Purolator, but quickly movedon to a successful sales career selling heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.  At the age of 50, with 6 young children, he made the bold decision to go out on his own, founding Blejwas Associates, Inc.  Ed was well-liked, respected, and trusted by his customers and vendors alike. Although not an engineer, he was elected by his peers to serve as President of the New Jersey chapter of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE), in part due to his easy-going demeanor and ability to troubleshoot challenging projects.

Ed kept active throughout his life, enjoying walking, skiing,golfing, and driving. Ed was proud to have shot two holes-in-one at Fiddlers Elbow, where he was a member for many years.He was extremely handy and frequently helped his family, friends and children with their home projects. He loved to travel with Judy, and later with his niece, Kathleen. He visited his daughter Karen in Alaska many times where he enjoyed fishing for king salmon. He loved spending time and being silly with his grandchildren and regularly attended their sporting events, dance recitals, holiday concerts, and school presentations. 

He was a longtime parishioner of St. James R.C. Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 2392.  He also served on the Operations and Lifestyle Committees at Fellowship Village.

He was predeceased by his wife Judy and his siblings Stanley, Eddie, Walter, Joe, Stacia, Irene, Jean, Reggie, and Wanda.

He is survived by six children; Karen Blejwas (Julie Willloughby) of Juneau, AK, Brian (Michele) of Delray Beach, FL, Stephen (Donna) of Bernardsville, NJ, Laura Lilly (Kevin) of Natick, MA, Maria Rydelek (Dave) of Shrewsbury, MA, and Christopher (Maureen) of Lebanon, NJ and his 10 grandchildren Kayla, Kelly, Andrew, Alyssa, Julia, James, Kelsey, Patrick, Jack and Chloe.   He is also survived by his niece Kathleen and his nephew Kevin along with many other nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Bailey Funeral Home, 176 Main Street, Peapack on Tuesday Jan 7, 2025 from 3-7 pm.  Funeral Liturgy Wednesday 11am at St. James Church Basking Ridge.  Interment Holy Cross Cemetery, Basking Ridge.

In lieu of flowers the family request donations in Ed’s name be sent to the Knights of Columbus or the Lustgarten Foundation.

As Ed would have said, “Cheerio pip pip!”