John F. Aldrich, Jr., age 84 years, of Union Township, Hunterdon County, NJ, died peacefully at Independence Manor on Thursday, November 18, 2021, under the caring watch of Hunterdon Hospice.

Born on May 5, 1937 in Brooklyn, NY, son of the late John F. and Lucy Macchio Aldrich, John was raised in Bradley Gardens, NJ, and had lived in Raritan Township, NJ prior to moving to Union Township several years ago.

A passionate businessman, John put his heart and soul into his work endeavors. An expert home builder, he was very proud to have designed and developed both the ‘Meadow Run’ and ‘Meadow Run South’ communities off of Old York Road in Raritan Township, NJ.

In addition to his home building company, John was also the developer and owner/operator of Hunterdon Storage, with several locations in Flemington and Ringoes, NJ, an endeavor he still ran to this day, along with his niece, Jessica.

Though his work was all-encompassing, John did take some time for himself, enjoying many relaxing days at his shore home on Long Beach Island. He enjoyed traveling, experiencing several cruises with friends. One of his favorite memories was scuba diving in Acapulco, Mexico, where he truly got a chance to appreciate the majestic waters of the Pacific Ocean. In his younger years, John was a pilot and flew small Cessna’s. Whether on land, in the water, or up in the sky, John truly appreciated nature and the beauty of the Earth. It was also in each of these places where you would find him enjoying a cup of WaWa coffee, which was his fuel for life!

A lover of animals, John was always interested in how the pets of all the people he knew were doing, usually before he wanted to hear about how they were doing! His love of animals ran so deep that he bought his sister and his niece each their first horse, a passion that is with them to this day. Family was important to John, and in many ways, he was the caretaker of the small, but tight group.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Aldrich in 1978 and a sister, Patricia Rhodes in 1995.

Surviving are his sister, Linda Williams; two nieces, Jessica Nicholson and her longtime partner, Ryan Duckworth and Allison Williams; and his great nephews, Brian Nicholson and Jacob Duckworth.

John will lie in repose on Wednesday, November 24, 2021 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

A life celebration service will follow the visitation beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the funeral home and to which all are welcome.

Burial near his cherished family will take place at St. Magdalen Cemetery, North Main Street, Flemington, NJ.

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.

Contributions in his honor may be made to Hunterdon Hospice, via mail to 9100 Wescott Drive, Suite 202, Flemington, New Jersey 08822 or online by clicking HERE. Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated.

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