John Battista

On Saturday, April 9, 2016 John Battista died after a courageous battle with cancer.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep at 7:45 a.m.  He was born on Friday, July 21, 1944 in Paterson, New Jersey and was raised in the Wyckoff area.  He lived in Long Valley for 32 years before moving to Lewes, Delaware in July 2014.  He was a parishioner of St. Luke’s Church in Long Valley, New Jersey.

John was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.  He was a member of Msgr. Edwin E. Lange Assembly No. 1562.  He was a Past Grand Knight of St. Luke’s Council No. 10419 (Renamed Long Valley Council No. 10419 on January 13, 2006).  He was a charter member of St. Luke’s Council.  As a member of the council John was instrumental in organizing many fundraising events.  When the first addition was built at St. Luke’s it included the kitchen and parish center.  John designed and managed the construction of the kitchen, doing much of the work himself.  At the next auction he initiated adding the dinner to the venue, organized the team to prepare the food and did much of the cooking himself.  He also brought Dennis Cassidy in as the auctioneer.  Although the chef’s hat has been passed on to others, John set the benchmark that we have followed successfully for nearly 20 years.