NATHAN WITKIN, age 98, died July 12, 2014 at JFK Hospital in Edison, N.J. He was born April 9, 1916 in New York City. A life-long resident of Perth Amboy, he was the son of the late Morris and Rebecca Witkin, and was predeceased by his brothers Ira and Paul Witkin and his sister Ida Attinger. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Norma Stein Witkin, children Eric (Regina Bilotta) of Harrison, N.Y., Jane (Charles Tutino) of Maplewood, N.J., and Marc of Middlebury, Vt., grandchildren Daniel and Sarah Witkin and Emily and Will Tutino, nieces Laurie Witkin, Merle Milder, Ellen Chenaux and nephew Jeffrey Gutman.
After graduation from Perth Amboy High School in 1933 and the repeal of Prohibition, he worked as a salesman in the wholesale liquor business. During World War II, he served from 1942 to 1946 in the U.S. Army Signal Corps attaining the rank of First Lieutenant in the Philippines. In 1951, he founded Witty's Liquors and ran it with his brother Paul for more than 30 years with stores in Perth Amboy, Rahway and South River, N.J. For the next 30 years he worked as a real estate salesman with J.J. Elek.
Among his many contributions to New Jersey civic life, he served as President of the Perth Amboy Y.M.H.A and on the boards of Temple Beth Mordecai, Congregation Shaarey Tefiloh, The Proprietary House, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, and he was Treasurer of Concerts by the Bay. He also served as a member of the Perth Amboy Zoning Board of Adjustment, as a lay member of the N.J. Supreme Court Fee Arbitration and Attorney Ethics Committees, and as a Commissioner of the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Board. A life member of the NAACP, he was honored by that organization in 1996. He was also a member of Citizens Against Unsafe Environment, which successfully opposed construction of a hazardous waste facility in Perth Amboy. In 2007, he and his wife Norma were honored by Raritan Bay Medical Center for their work in supporting the Jacqueline M. & Robert N. Wilentz Cancer Center, named in memory of their dear friends. He was also a member of the Raritan Yacht Club.
He will be sorely missed by his family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the RBMC Foundation, 471 Lawrie St. Perth Amboy,NJ 08861.
Services will be held a The Flynn & Son Funeral Home 424 East Street, Perth Amboy, NJ. 08861. at 11 AM Monday, July 14. Burial will follow in Beth Mordecai Cemetery. Shiva will be observed at the family residence.