Obituary for Nicholas Osifchin
Nicholas Osifchin, 95 of Spring Lake passed away Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune. Born in Phillipsburg, he had resided in Kinnelon for many years before retiring to Spring Lake in 1999.
He was a veteran of WWII, serving as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army. In the battle for Normandy, he was twice wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart Medal for his service. Following the war, he went on to complete his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering on the GI Bill at Rutgers University and his graduate studies in Applied Mechanics at Stevens Institute of Technology. Graduating Tau Beta Pi, he started a long and distinguished career as an engineer at Bell Laboratories. Notably, he directed the development of SEAPLOW, a remotely controlled and tethered vehicle for burying transoceanic communication cables, and directed the development of the ground station antenna for TELSTAR, the first telecommunications satellite placed in orbit. After 38 years of service, he retired from Bell Labs in 1989 as the Director of Power Systems. During his tenure, he received 7 patents, authored 27 publications, gave numerous invited lectures, and was awarded the 1993 IEEE Award for Leadership. He was the co-founder of INTELEC and an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. Equally involved outside of work, he served as a councilman in the borough of Kinnelon and board member on multiple state and local government bodies.
He was predeceased by his parents John and Mary (Kollar) Osifchin, and 4 siblings John, Olga Weisser, Edward, and Dorothy Crowley.
Nicholas is survived by his beloved wife Ruth (Gillen) Osifchin, his 5 devoted children, Nicole Kenney and husband John of West Windsor, Mark Osifchin of Aberdeen, Richard Osifchin and wife Mandy of Warren, Tammy Osifchin of Highlands, and Daria Osifchin of NY, NY, and 4 cherished grandchildren, Matthew and Catherine Kenney and Timothy and Jeffrey Osifchin.
Visitation Friday from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at the O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Hwy. 35 at New Bedford Rd., Wall, NJ 07719 followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 10:30am in St. Catharine’s RC Church, 215 Essex Ave., Spring Lake, NJ 07762. Private committal will be at the convenience of his family.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to a charity of your choice in memory of Nicholas.
For directions or to offer online condolences to the family please visit www.obrienfuneralhome.com
He was a veteran of WWII, serving as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army. In the battle for Normandy, he was twice wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart Medal for his service. Following the war, he went on to complete his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering on the GI Bill at Rutgers University and his graduate studies in Applied Mechanics at Stevens Institute of Technology. Graduating Tau Beta Pi, he started a long and distinguished career as an engineer at Bell Laboratories. Notably, he directed the development of SEAPLOW, a remotely controlled and tethered vehicle for burying transoceanic communication cables, and directed the development of the ground station antenna for TELSTAR, the first telecommunications satellite placed in orbit. After 38 years of service, he retired from Bell Labs in 1989 as the Director of Power Systems. During his tenure, he received 7 patents, authored 27 publications, gave numerous invited lectures, and was awarded the 1993 IEEE Award for Leadership. He was the co-founder of INTELEC and an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. Equally involved outside of work, he served as a councilman in the borough of Kinnelon and board member on multiple state and local government bodies.
He was predeceased by his parents John and Mary (Kollar) Osifchin, and 4 siblings John, Olga Weisser, Edward, and Dorothy Crowley.
Nicholas is survived by his beloved wife Ruth (Gillen) Osifchin, his 5 devoted children, Nicole Kenney and husband John of West Windsor, Mark Osifchin of Aberdeen, Richard Osifchin and wife Mandy of Warren, Tammy Osifchin of Highlands, and Daria Osifchin of NY, NY, and 4 cherished grandchildren, Matthew and Catherine Kenney and Timothy and Jeffrey Osifchin.
Visitation Friday from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at the O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Hwy. 35 at New Bedford Rd., Wall, NJ 07719 followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 10:30am in St. Catharine’s RC Church, 215 Essex Ave., Spring Lake, NJ 07762. Private committal will be at the convenience of his family.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to a charity of your choice in memory of Nicholas.
For directions or to offer online condolences to the family please visit www.obrienfuneralhome.com