Obituary of Richard Edwin Thistle

Richard Edwin Thistle Sr., 86, died peacefully on Sunday, July 27, 2008 within the loving care of the Sisters of Mercy at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung. Mr. Thistle was born in New Brunswick, raised in Highland Park, and lived in Metuchen for 10 years and then in North Plainfield for 50 years. Mr. Thistles college years were put on hold during World War II while he was a U. S. Army lieutenant serving in China and French Indochina (Vietnam.) In 1947 Mr. Thistle received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University. He later worked at Stavid Engineering before moving to Lockheed Electronics in North Plainfield, where he worked for nearly 40 years prior to retiring. A consummate volunteer, a life-long learner, and a dedicated musician, Mr. Thistle was active in Wilson Memorial Church, Star Fish, Road Runners, the Lockheed Star Dusters big band, and multiple other groups. His commitment to personal growth was remarkable, as was his kindness and generosity to others, making his impact on his family and many friends deeply profound. Mr. Thistles passion for music and for engineering emerged when he was a toddler, as demonstrated by the cigar box violin that he built. He later began formal violin lessons while he was a student in elementary school. In high school during the Depression, he was encouraged by his saxophone-playing brother, Harold, to take up the sax as a means of earning money, thus a seventy-year love affair with the tenor and baritone saxophones was born. He subsequently started bands at both his church and at Lockheed. In his retirement years, he added the clarinet to his repertoire, annually marching and playing in the Scotch Plains / Fanwood Memorial Day Parade. He also loved singing in the Wilson Church Choir and playing in the Wilsonics, the church band that he organized. His affinity for music lives on in his children and grandchildren. Until age 80, Mr. Thistle skied, golfed, swam, kayaked and biked. His life-long love of travel took him back to China and to England with his beloved wife Jane. They also made regular trips to Iowa, Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, California and Idaho to spend time with their family. Indeed, their lives were woven together by their love of family, friends, church and travel. Mr. Thistle was predeceased by Jane Smith Thistle, his beloved wife of 56 years; and by his brother Harold Edward Thistle Jr. He is survived by his children and their families: daughter, Susan Jane Thistle Juiliano, Ed. M.; daughter, Diane Thistle Weinholtz, Ph.D.; son, Richard Edwin Thistle, Jr. M.D.; sons-in-law, Frank Juiliano and Donn Weinholtz; daughter-in-law, Nancy Smith Thistle; grandchildren John Juiliano, Susan Juiliano, Andrew Juiliano, David Weinholtz, Philip Weinholtz, Jennifer Weinholtz, Richard Edwin Thistle III, Robert Thistle, and William Thistle; and great grandchildren, Steven Lewis, Shavonne Lewis, Jessica Smith, and John Juiliano, Jr. A memorial service will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at Wilson Memorial Union Church, 7 Valley Road in Watchung. Arrangements are by Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. Donations may be made to Wilson Memorial Church Choir, 7 Valley Road, Watchung, NJ 07069 or McAuley Hall Health Care Center, 1633 Highway 22, Watchung, NJ 07069.