Obituary for Andre William Gruber
Andre William Gruber was born December 30, 1935 to Andreas M. Gruber and Sarah Schwicke in Queens, New York. Throughout his life Andre was a farmer, an attorney, a faithful and dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a long time temple worker, including serving a three year mission in the Manhattan NY LDS Temple, a local congregational leader, Chairman of the local YMCA, as well as many other service roles. He was a passionate advocate in politics and loved the political arena at every level. He was the Middlesex County Republican Chairman for many years and a Delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention. He was a Mets fan, a Knicks fan, a real estate developer/builder, a city boy who loved the country, a Patriot to this great country, a friend to many presidents, including Ronald Reagan and even to some modern-day apostles, including Ezra Taft Benson, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He was an enthusiastic baseball fan/player as a child and his greatest sport’s thrill was to see Jackie Robinson steal home base at Ebbets Field. As a parent, his greatest thrill was to attend and see all of his children’s activities. An avid bowler he loved rolling “black beauty” down the lanes, chasing the elusive 300. Above all, Andre was a devoted husband, a present father, a loving grandfather and a tender great-grandfather.
As a young boy Andre loved visiting his paternal grandmother on her farm in Allentown, New Jersey. In 1947, after several years of visits, Andre convinced his parents to move the family from Long Island to South Brunswick, New Jersey to start a poultry farm. Most of their sales would go to NYC restaurants. Even though he would become the Future Farmer’s of America’s “Poultry Boy of the Year” he decided that farming would not be his life’s calling.
A graduate of Jamesburg High School, he also graduated with a B.S. degree in Political Science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and earned a JD degree from Rutgers Law School-Newark and made constant learning an important focus of his life. His law career began at the New Brunswick firm of Strong and Strong, where he would meet his sweetheart of 54 years, Sari L. Varga of South River. As a graduate from New Jersey Military Academy in Sea Girt & Officer Training School in Fort Knox, Kentucky he also served as Captain (Tank Commander) of Company D 102nd Armored Calvary, in the National Guard. After serving 14 years Andre resigned his commission to focus on his legal career and family in lieu of advancement. He would go on to start several incarnations of his own firm and practice law in Middlesex County for more than 50 years, focusing mainly on real estate, zoning and planning law. His legal practice also included appointments as South Brunswick Township Attorney, East Brunswick Zoning Board Attorney, Old Bridge Zoning Board Attorney & County Condemnation Commissioner.
On the morning of February 18, 2020, at the age of 84, Andre passed away peacefully and painlessly in his home after a valiant two year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Sari Gruber, his son Michael (Susan) Gruber, his daughter Kristin (Joseph) Bilal and ten grandchildren: Lizzy (Ben) Roderick, Alex (Mia) Gruber, Austen (McKenna) Bilal, Alison (Brett) Thorpe, Tyler Bilal, Megan Gruber, Natalie Bilal and three great-grandchildren, Teddy, Anya and Penny.
Andre will be remembered for his years of dedicated service to his country, his community, his church and most importantly to his family. He spent his life making his loved ones his priority. Andre’s last words were “show me a smile”, which completely sums up his outlook on life. He was given only six months to live and we got an additional two full years of great memories, fun jokes and sage advice. For that, we are most grateful, let’s go Mets!
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Andre’s name to the following:
LDS Philanthropies
https://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/familysearch
Brigham Young University International Center for Law and Religion Studies
https://www.iclrs.org/make-a-contribution/
Funeral Arrangements are under the respectful care and direction of Funeral Director, Christine A. Cuoco of Ruby Memorial in North Brunswick, NJ. Family & Friends may share memories and offer condolences at www.rubymemorialhome.com
As a young boy Andre loved visiting his paternal grandmother on her farm in Allentown, New Jersey. In 1947, after several years of visits, Andre convinced his parents to move the family from Long Island to South Brunswick, New Jersey to start a poultry farm. Most of their sales would go to NYC restaurants. Even though he would become the Future Farmer’s of America’s “Poultry Boy of the Year” he decided that farming would not be his life’s calling.
A graduate of Jamesburg High School, he also graduated with a B.S. degree in Political Science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and earned a JD degree from Rutgers Law School-Newark and made constant learning an important focus of his life. His law career began at the New Brunswick firm of Strong and Strong, where he would meet his sweetheart of 54 years, Sari L. Varga of South River. As a graduate from New Jersey Military Academy in Sea Girt & Officer Training School in Fort Knox, Kentucky he also served as Captain (Tank Commander) of Company D 102nd Armored Calvary, in the National Guard. After serving 14 years Andre resigned his commission to focus on his legal career and family in lieu of advancement. He would go on to start several incarnations of his own firm and practice law in Middlesex County for more than 50 years, focusing mainly on real estate, zoning and planning law. His legal practice also included appointments as South Brunswick Township Attorney, East Brunswick Zoning Board Attorney, Old Bridge Zoning Board Attorney & County Condemnation Commissioner.
On the morning of February 18, 2020, at the age of 84, Andre passed away peacefully and painlessly in his home after a valiant two year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Sari Gruber, his son Michael (Susan) Gruber, his daughter Kristin (Joseph) Bilal and ten grandchildren: Lizzy (Ben) Roderick, Alex (Mia) Gruber, Austen (McKenna) Bilal, Alison (Brett) Thorpe, Tyler Bilal, Megan Gruber, Natalie Bilal and three great-grandchildren, Teddy, Anya and Penny.
Andre will be remembered for his years of dedicated service to his country, his community, his church and most importantly to his family. He spent his life making his loved ones his priority. Andre’s last words were “show me a smile”, which completely sums up his outlook on life. He was given only six months to live and we got an additional two full years of great memories, fun jokes and sage advice. For that, we are most grateful, let’s go Mets!
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Andre’s name to the following:
LDS Philanthropies
https://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/familysearch
Brigham Young University International Center for Law and Religion Studies
https://www.iclrs.org/make-a-contribution/
Funeral Arrangements are under the respectful care and direction of Funeral Director, Christine A. Cuoco of Ruby Memorial in North Brunswick, NJ. Family & Friends may share memories and offer condolences at www.rubymemorialhome.com