Ex-Chief Robert “Beansie” Plavier

1938 - 2020

Funeral Details:

In-Person Location: Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ | www.vandermay.com

Online Streaming: The Fire Department service will be streamed on the Wayne Fire Company #5 Facebook page and on this page starting Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 7pm.

Obituary

Robert “Bob” “Chief” "Beansie" W. Plavier, passed Sunday, December 13, 2020.

He was born to Peter and Anna Plavier in Paterson. Robert grew up in the Totowa section of Paterson and graduated from Central High School in the city and played baseball and football for the high school teams with the Class of 1956. Although his grandfather was his biggest fan and never missed a game, his father never thought he should play sports because he would get injured for the rest of his life. His dad refused to sign any sports forms and never saw him play an inning of baseball or saw a single football play during his four years of high school sports where he lettered two years with football and in baseball as well. Bob played football with a leather helmet, no face mask, no ankle tape, no mouth guard and he said you were “lucky if you had a jock strap.” On the football team he was a second string center, long snapper, starting defensive linebacker, and played both offense and defense never missing a play. Bob also played softball and basketball in the city leagues because all of his friends were playing.

Bob met Joan in West Side Park when she was skating on a tennis court that was flooded during the winter so people could ice skate. Bob spotted Joan skating and borrowed a pair of skates from a friend so he could skate with her and hopefully meet here. Their first date was to the movies at the Fabian Theatre in Paterson as per Bob “you always took your best date to the Fabian Theatre as it was a first class place to go.” Lou Costello would have his film world premieres at the Fabian Theatre and the Alexander Hamilton Hotel was next door where all the celebrities attending the premiere would stay. Bob’s father, who owned P.G. Plavier & Sons Funeral Home in Paterson, and had two limousines, would drive the celebrities around town. Bob recalled his father driving Bella Lugosi at one time. Bob and Joan fell in love and married on June 24, 1961 at the Cedar Cliff Methodist Church in Haledon where Joan taught Sunday school and sang in the choir. They honeymooned at Cape Cod, Massachusetts and had a loving and devoted marriage. They purchased a home in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne in 1963 where they raised their two children Robert and Suzanne. Bob was a truly devoted husband and held Joan’s hand until her last breath.

During his high school years Bob’s teacher Charlie Temple saw what a good kid Bob was and soon befriended him. Bob would go to Charlie’s house all the time and his wife, who was a teacher at School 7 in Paterson, “treated him like gold” and would always make them something to eat. Bob and Charlie would go fishing all over the place including trips to Lake Hopatcong. Often at lunch time during school Charlie would ask Bob to call his mom to tell her they were coming for lunch and the two of them would jump in Charlie’s car and run to Bob’s home to get something to eat. Charlie Temple got Bob a job at Rocco Press in Paterson where he would work after school and weekends. This part-time job would turn into a forty-five year career for Bob setting line-o-type at Rocco Press. This typesetting system cast blocks of metal type for individual uses where Bob would enter text on a 90 character keyboard. Any mistakes were a nightmare so Bob got really good at proofreading. As a matter of fact he would often call Vander May Funeral Home to alert us there was a typo in our obituaries. Bob was a member of International Typographical Union Local 195 in Paterson. For about seven years Bob worked two full time jobs. He would go to Rocco Press from 6 AM – 2 PM and then worked as a Park Ranger for Wayne Township from 3:45 PM until Midnight. During the time he worked the two jobs his wife Joan began showing signs of dementia. He finally had to give up working at Rocco Press in 2000 and was able to work as a Park Ranger for a few more years until Joan’s condition worsened and he devoted his time to caring for her needs.

When Bob moved to Wayne one of his friends Bill Butler who lived down the street and a friend Jim Thompson, who Bob used to hang out with in Paterson and also lived in Packanack Lake, invited Bob to join Packanack Fire Company #5. Bob was active with the fire company for thirty years until he needed to direct all his time to caring for his wife Joan. Bob was Chief of Packanack Fire Company #5 from 1979-1980 and again from 1987-1988, he was Assistant Chief for five years, Wayne Township Fire Commissioner for two years, he was President of the Wayne Township Fireman’s Relief from 1995-1996 and 2005-2006, a Life Member of the Fireman’s Relief and Exempt Association, Member of the NJ State Fire Chiefs Association and a member of the NJ State Volunteer Chief’s Association.

Bob was the loving and devoted husband of the late Joan (DeBlock) Plavier (d.2004); devoted father of Robert J. Plavier of Montrose, PA, and Suzanne Amabile and her husband Scott of Wayne; he is the cherished grandfather of Miranda Luce and husband Jason and Hanna Amabile; and great grandfather to Joana Luce; he was the dear brother of the late Peter Plavier of Totowa and Earl T. Plavier (d.2006).

Friends may visit with the family from 4-8 PM on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.

A 10 AM Funeral Service will be held Friday, December 18, 2020 at the funeral home.

Interment will be in the Fair Lawn Cemetery, Fair Lawn.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Wayne Fire Company #5 would be greatly appreciated.