John D. Trimmer, age 75 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, died suddenly but peacefully in his sleep on Monday, March 14, 2022, at home.

Born in Somerville, NJ, April 18, 1946, son of the late William Trimmer, Sr., and Elnora Bittenbender Trimmer, John was raised in High Bridge, NJ, and never left his Hunterdon County roots, having lived in Alexandria Township and Clinton, NJ, prior to moving to Raritan Township over 25 years ago.

John’s life will forever be remembered for the genuine love he shared with his wife of almost fifty years, Olga Welenteychik Trimmer, who died in John’s arms in 2017. The couple married on August 26, 1967, at High Bridge Reformed Church, High Bridge, NJ, and John would refer Olga to everyone as his “angel” whose smile lit up any room.  The couple would always impress all they met with their natural ways of genuineness and selflessness with which they approached their marriage and true friendship.

For over twenty years John and Olga both worked doing drug evaluations at Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals in Raritan, NJ. Upon retirement, John, never one to sit on his hands, would continue to help Olga, a master gardener, keep their home in radiant beauty, but would also turn full-time towards one of his passions: serving the community via emergency services.

John’s love of the emergency service world was more than driving around with lights and sirens or having a shiny uniform; it was a true and unwavering desire to help his fellow man. John was a Life Member of the Raritan Township Fire Company, Station 21. He was also a longtime Deputy Coordinator for the Raritan Township Office of Emergency Management. If all of those duties weren’t enough, he was a full time Inspector/911 Coordinator for the Raritan Township Fire Marshall’s office.

In all his endeavors, John was known as a stickler for the rules and extremely diligent in every task he was assigned or undertook on his own volition. He believed in doing things right the first time. His passion for fire services and fire safety have truly inspired another generation.

A United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War, John faithfully served his country from 1965-1968. In addition to serving, John also played the trumpet in the Army Band, a fact of which he was very proud.

For more than twenty years, John battled several types of cancer, many of which he beat including lymphoma and kidney cancer. Several years ago he even had open heart surgery and all the while, never complained once. It is this quiet, inner strength that has come to define John’s life.

Always humming a tune and pulling a practical joke, John will be forever remembered for his unwavering devotion to Olga, his love of family and friends, and his passion for developing and strengthening emergency services and first responders. The author Herman Melville once wrote, “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men,” John, thank you for showing us how we are connected, and not divided. Rest easy friend, we got it from here…

In addition to his parents and beloved wife, Olga, John was preceded in death by a sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Richard Hoffman; three sisters-in-laws, Maryann Welenteychik, Sylvia Trimmer and Nina Cavlier; and a brother-in-law, Dave Heater.

Surviving are his brothers and sister-in-law, Robert Trimmer and William Trimmer II and Marie Trimmer; his sister-in-law, Jane Heater; two brothers-in-law and one sister-in-law, Steve Welenteychik and Michael and Sandy Welenteychik; several nieces, nephews and extended family; and many caring and loyal friends.

John will lie in repose on Sunday, March 27, 2022, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

Life celebration services officiated by Life Celebrant D.J. Wright, along with Raritan Township Fire Company, Raritan Township Fire Marshall and Raritan Township Office of Emergency Management honors will take place on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home. All apparatus are asked to stage in the bank parking lot next to the funeral home.

Graveside services with military honors will take place on Monday, March 28, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA. Everyone is encouraged to meet at the funeral home at 9:15 a.m. to leave in procession to the cemetery at 9:30 am.

Realizing that some may be unable to attend due to the pandemic, the visitation, life celebration service and burial service on Sunday and Monday will be live-streamed, with the stream being active starting at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and 10:15 a.m. on Monday. To watch, please click HERE and kindly ensure you do not have a pop-up blocker enabled (if you are having issues with clicking above, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/event/1967586). Kindly note that the same link will be used for all three events.

You are encouraged to visit John’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.

Memorial contributions in his honor may be made to the Raritan Township Fire Company, 303 South Main Street, Flemington, NJ, 08822.

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