Laurie Fitchett (nee Hannelore Alice Petschow) died Oct. 9, 2022. She was 94 years old.
Born in Basel, Switzerland to Johannes and Johanna Petschow, she moved with her parents to the United States of America at age six. She lived in Green Brook, New Jersey, from 1956 until March 2022, when she moved to New Jersey Eastern Star Home in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
She graduated from Glen Ridge High School and attended Bucknell University. She was a newspaper reporter for the Somerset Press for eight years and a substitute teacher in Green Brook.
She served on the Green Brook Board of Education and Green Brook PTA for many years. She also held positions in the New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Jersey PTA, serving as NJSBA’s vice president of resolutions from 1980 to 1981 and president of the NJPTA from 1983 to 1985. She was honored with life membership in both the NJPTA and the National PTA. In addition, she served on numerous education-related committees and commissions, and she was elected the first female president of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association in 1987.
She loved to travel with her husband Gil. Their trips included Hawaii, Alaska, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Australia. She was an avid sports fan, closely following Rutgers football and basketball, as well as the Giants, Devils, and NASCAR. She also enjoyed gardening and reading.
She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen for more than 55 years. She served as an elder and a deacon and participated in many church activities. Laurie was predeceased by her beloved husband of 52 years, Gilmer, in 2006; her son, Kurt, in 1999, and her brother, Kurt Petschow, in 2010. Surviving are her son, Craig, and his wife, Susan, of Milford, New Jersey; her grandchildren, Alice Cuviello and her husband, Christopher, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Gail Milone and her husband, John, of Pitman, New Jersey; Brandon Fitchett and his wife, Renata, of Huntersville, North Carolina; and Shannon Fitchett of Columbia, Maryland; and her great-grandchildren, Autumn Cuviello, Caio, Owen, and Mia Fitchett, and Freddy Fitzgerald. She is also survived by her cousin, Peter Welge of Syracuse, New York; nephews Kurt and Douglas Petschow and sister-in-law, Lynn Petschow, all of Cranford; and many close friends.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. at The First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen, 218 Dunellen Ave., Dunellen. Visitation will be in the church from 9 a.m. until the service. The interment will follow the service at Bound Brook Cemetery.
Arrangements are in the care of The Mundy Funeral Home. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen, 218 Dunellen Avenue, Dunellen, NJ 08812 or to the Green Brook Township – Volunteer Fire/EMS, 115 Greenbrook Road, Green Brook, NJ 08812.
You can view her obituary and leave a message of condolence here.