Donald Paul Fedderly, Esq.

Donald Paul Fedderly, Esq., age 70 years, of Califon, NJ, died on Friday, June 9, 2023.

The following tribute was penned by his daughter, Erica:

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“I hope it is true that a man can die and yet not only live in others but give them life, and not only life but that great consciousness of life.” – Jack Kerouac, 1951

To sum up any man’s time here is a feat. But for the sake of publicly acknowledging the passing of Donald Paul Fedderly, here is a small tribute to his 70 years of life, not just well-lived but lived with great fervor.

Don was born to Marian Kibbe Jones Fedderly, a lifelong Christian Scientist from Oakland, CA, and Donald James Fedderly, a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran of the Korean War from Seattle, on December 18, 1952 in his father’s native city. Growing up, his family moved often, including Kansas, Los Angeles, Berkeley, CA and Pittsburgh, where Don later graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Phi Beta Kappa.

Before studying at Duke University School of Law, passing the Bar and becoming an attorney, Don took a gap year to explore America’s vast terrain by motorcycle – stopping in places that piqued his interest, such as New Orleans. This period shaped his outlook and provided wisdom he would later bestow on his daughters.

In 1977, Don married his first wife Marty Clark. They later divorced but remained lasting friends for the rest of his life.

While practicing law in Palo Alto, CA in 1984, Don met Deborah Jo Chayes (now Fedderly) and fell in love. They moved overseas and lived in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Warsaw, Poland, Dartmouth, England, and Estepona, Spain – traveling extensively through each country, as well as Italy, Germany, Amsterdam and Morocco. On April 1, 1985 they married on the Rock of Gibraltar, a nod to Don’s ardor for the music of John Lennon.

Pregnant with their first child, Don and Debby moved to Long Valley, New Jersey, drawn to the area’s lush landscape and proximity to Don’s parents (and New York City). There, they opened the Law Offices of Donald P. Fedderly, Esq., discovered and named their family’s home, Twilight Hill, and raised their daughters, Eva and Erica. Of all his experiences and accomplishments, Don always said raising two independent young women was his greatest achievement – a pride and love that fueled him.

Don was a force of life who lived with great passion, intensity and sensitivity. He was spontaneous and unpredictable yet dependable and possessed a sixth sense for rising to the occasion. With an immense record collection and library, he was a voracious reader – Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger and Jack London among his favorites. He was a trained boxer, enjoyed bicycling and swimming, and loved riding his motorcycles (preferably one with a quiet exhaust) on a winding road, immersed fully in nature and tethered to nothing but the road. Don was a gifted, self-taught pianist and guitarist who also played electric bass and sang (in a band, but most successfully to sleepy daughters during childhood and in his convertible with the volume cranked up). He had an encyclopedic knowledge, especially of history; enjoyed film, especially Hitchcock and old Westerns; and frequented New York, especially Pastis, the Angelica, McSorley’s and Washington Square Park. Don could usually be seen disembarking from his motorcycle in an eclectic pair of European shoes and patched denim jacket or ensconced at a scrupulously selected table in a restaurant reading or doing the New York Times crossword – in pen.

Don was a remarkable son and father who loved and lived in ways unlike any other. Through conversation, connection and adventure, he fostered profound individual friendships with his parents and daughters, whom he affectionately called D.J., Kibbe, Sno and Blue.

In his final few years, Don retreated to a yellow house on the river in Califon, NJ, where he relished watching the ducks from his bay window. Sitting beside it, Don passed away in the quiet, early hours of Friday, June 9, 2023.

Don is survived by his sister Susan Gouger; his two daughters, Eva Fedderly, an author in New York City and New Orleans, and Erica Wida, a journalist living in Stockton, New Jersey; their husbands Benjamin Massey and Alex Wida; their mother Debby Fedderly; and his two grandchildren Masenne and Atlas.

The family will be hosting a private celebration of life this summer.

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Cremation and life celebration arrangements are private under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

You are encouraged to visit Don’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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