Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • October 9, 2013 Maria Amari vived by his sister Mary Dargay of Trenton, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents John and Anna Gera, and his brother John. Arrangements were made by Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey. Vera Lia Bastos Antoinette “Toni” Konefal, nee Manganiello, of Mahwah died Sept. 30. She was 84. She was a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church in Mahwah and a member of the Mahwah Senior Citizens. She is survived by her children John of Hillburn, New York, Louise of Middletown, New York, and Kathe Gibson of Maine. She is also survived by her brother James Manganiello and six grandchildren. Arrangements were made by Van Emburgh- Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey. Obituaries Maria Amari of Marietta, Georgia, formerly of Mahwah, died Oct. 2. She was 95. She is survived by her children Patricia Fox of Marietta, Georgia, Adrienne Amari of Port- land, Maine, and Arthur Amari of Sussex. She is also sur- vived by six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Anthony Amari. Arrangements were made by the Cremation Society of the South. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association. Vera Lia Bastos of Mahwah died Sept. 24. She was 84. She was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and came to the United States in 1968. She is survived by her children Vera and Ricardo, and three grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers Alfredo Luis and Gilberto, and son-in-law Russ. She was predeceased by her husband Helvecio, her daughter Maria, and her brother Carlos Augusto. Thomas J. Benson Thomas J. Benson of Mahwah, formerly of Upper Saddle River and Darien, Connecticut, died Sept. 29. He was 86. He was a U.S. Navy veteran from 1944 through 1946. He received a bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut Uni- versity and a master’s degree in secondary education from University of Bridgeport. He taught in the Darien, Con- necticut schools before becoming an assistant principal in the Greenwich, Connecticut district. He returned to Darien as principal of Middlesex Middle School. He became superintendent of the Upper Saddle River district in 1973, and served in that position until 1992. He was a parishioner of the Church of the Presentation R.C. Church in Upper Saddle River. He is survived by his children Thomas W. of Weston, Massachusetts, Linda Meiman of Ramsey, Beth O’Connor of Lisbon, Connecticut, and Carol Dannenfelser of Rockaway. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and his siblings Jim Benson of Georgia, Bob Benson of Paramus, Larry Lepore of Pompton Lakes, Vinnie Lepore of Ocala, Florida, and Eileen Benson of New York City. He was predeceased by his wife Carol Hurley Benson and his siblings David, George, and Pat Ciceri. Arrangements were made by Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey. George Gera George Gera of Mahwah died Sept. 28. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. He was born in Banske, Slovakia. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University and received a bachelor’s degree. He was employed by Avon Products for over 25 years. He was a member of Saint Paul’s Church in Ramsey, where he served as an usher for many years. He is survived by his wife Margaret and his daugh- ters Catherine DiRisio of Forked River, Donna Marozin of Mahwah, and Christy Capone of Mahwah. He is also sur- Antoinette ‘Toni’ Konefal John W. Masquelier John W. Masquelier of Ramsey died Sept. 22. He was 64. He was a graduate of Saint Joseph High School. He was a certified New Jersey Real Estate appraiser for 20 years. He is survived by his mother Beatrice of Ramsey and his brothers Pierre of Tiburon, California and George of Ramsey. He was predeceased by his father Bernard. Memorial donations made to Beatrice Masquelier, 109 Pine Street, Ramsey would be graciously appreciated. Timothy Raymond McGill Timothy Raymond McGill of Ramsey died Sept. 21. He was a U.S. Marine. He was a life-long resident of Ramsey where he played junior football and was active in the DARE Street Hockey program and the Ramsey Ice Hockey Association. In his junior year of high school, he attended the New Jersey State Police Trooper Youth Week where his sense of patriotism and military standards were formed. He graduated from Ramsey High School in 2001 and went directly into the Marine Corps. He was in Boot Camp at Parris Island when the 9/11 attacks occurred and he saw action as a machine gunner in the infantry in the second battle of Fallujah while with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. After coming home from Iraq, he joined the Ramsey Fire Department as a volunteer. He continued his service to his country and joined the Rhode Island National Guard for its Special Forces Unit. He passed the initial phase of the training, which enabled him to pursue his Green Beret. He was awarded his Green Beret in May of 2011. Soon thereafter, he was stationed at Fort Myers in the State of Washington and was deployed to the jungles of the Philip- pines as part of a Special Forces successful rescue mission. In between these deployments, he would come home and serve as a volunteer firefighter in Ramsey. In January of 2013, he was assigned to the 1st Group Special Forces and was deployed to Afghanistan where he was killed by enemy gunfire on Sept. 21. He received 28 valor awards including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is survived by his parents Ray and Carol of Ramsey, and his sisters Megan and Lindsay Vanderbeek. He is also survived by his grand- mother Catherine McGill. Arrangements were made by Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey. Memorial donations may be made to the Wounded War- riors Fund or the Pit Bull Rescue. Anna Petrou Anna Petrou, nee Papas, of Wyckoff died Sept. 23. She was 88. She was a parishioner of Saint Nicholas G.O. Church in Wyckoff and a member of the Daughters of Penelope. She is survived by her children Peter of Wood- land Park and Sophia of Bedminster. She was predeceased by her husband Adam and her siblings Basil Papas, Jr. and Mary Troise. Arrangements were made by Patrick J. Conte Funeral Home, Inc. in Elmwood Park. Henry J. Popjes Henry J. Popjes of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, for- merly of Franklin Lakes, died Sept. 29. He was 79. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. He was an accoun- tant at Ford Motor Company and Fine Organics Corp. He supported church missions and volunteered at Hershey Medical Center. He is survived by his wife Janet (Druk- ker) Popjes, and his sons Scott of Sunland, California and Eric Popjes of Hershey, Pennsylvania. He is also survived by two grandchildren, and his siblings Jacob Popjes and Florence Popjes. Memorial donations may be made to Hope Community Church Mission Fund, 1806 Harrisburg Pike, Mount Joy PA 17552 or Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Palliative Medicine, H-106, 500 Univer- sity Drive, P.O. Box 850 Hershey PA 17033. Edward William Schwehm Edward William Schwehm of Ridgewood died Oct. 1. He was 62. He received his bachelor’s degree in electri- cal engineering and his master’s of business administration from Fairleigh Dickinson. He was the owner of Brund- age Associates, Inc., a manufacturer’s sales representative agency selling industrial products to distributors and origi- nal equipment manufacturers in the tri-state area. He was an active member in the community, volunteering at his church, West Side Presbyterian Church, and coaching his children’s sports teams. He is survived by his wife Wendy, and his children Edward Adam Schwehm and Kristina Ashley Schwehm. He is also survived by his mother Edith Schwehm and one granddaughter. He was predeceased by his father Eduard Schwehm. Arrangements were made by Vander Plaat Funeral Home in Wyckoff. Memorial dona- tions may be made to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Brain and Tissue Bank, 31 Center Drive, Building 31, Room 2803, Bethesda, MD 20892. Raymond Schaper Junior Raymond Schaper Jr. of Waldwick died Oct. 3. He was 85. He was employed at Stokes Dairy in Franklin Lakes for over 60 years. He is survived by his wife Vienna of Waldwick, and his daughters Judith Giegel of Waldwick and Joan Schaper of Bergenfield. He is also survived by two grandchildren, and his siblings Herman, Ida, and Jean. Arrangements were made by C.C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home in Ridgewood. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 400 Morris Avenue, Den- ville, NJ 07834-1365.