Obituary of Abraham Hajjar

Abraham (Jack) Hajjar, a long time resident of Glenville, died suddenly at Ellis Hospital on Thursday January 23rd. Born January 27, 1931 in Quincy MA, the youngest of 6 children of Sidney and Anne Hajjar. Jack had a wonderful life, in which family always came first. His wife, kids and grandkids were the lights of his life. He was loved by his five older siblings, sisters Nellie, Isabelle and Josie and brothers Joe and Ned, and they remained close their entire lives. He had 18 nieces and nephews and many cousins, all of whom he loved spending time with. He would help organize "family picnics" in Quincy or Chatham where the extended clan would get together for fun, conversation and great Lebanese food. Jack attended Quincy High School and then Northeastern University where he earned his BS in Chemical Engineering before attending Rose Hulman in Terra Haute, Indiana where he earned an MS in Chemical Engineering. He made friends wherever he went and kept in touch with people from Quincy and even Indiana his whole life. Jack came to NY State to work for GE Silicones in Waterford, where he worked as a chemical engineer for 35 years, until he retired in 1996. After retirement he pursued new interests like art and computers and took classes at the Community college, maintaining a love of learning his whole life. He dabbled in the stock market, picking more winners than losers, and was a lifelong Red Sox fan who had one his dreams realized when the Sox finally won the World Series in 2004. He was a long time member of the parish of St John the Baptist in Schenectady. He was married to Carolyn Gilkeson Hajjar for 54 years and as he would say regularly, "marrying her was the best decision I ever made". He is survived by his wife, his five children and five grandchildren; daughter Nancy Hajjar and her husband John McFadden of Rancho, CA, daughter Mimi Hajjar and her husband Craig Lynch and their son Jack and daughter Isabelle of Niskayuna, son Peter Hajjar and his wife Kathleen Callahan and their daughter Sophie of Newton MA, daughter Jean Hajjar of Charlestown MA, and daughter Susan Hajjar and her husband Tim Donovan and their son Thomas and daughter Emily of Atlanta GA, and his sister Josephine Hajjar of Quincy MA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Jack on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at the church of St. Kateri Tekakwitha 2216 Rosa Road Schenectady, NY at 9:00am with Rev. Robert Longobucco officiating. Relatives and friends are cordially invited and may also call on the family Monday January 27, 2014 from 6:00 to 8:00pm at the Glenville Funeral Home, 9 Glenridge Rd., East Glenville. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jack's name to St Jude's Children's Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Pl, Memphis, TN 38105 Online condolences may be expressed at www.glenvillefuneralhome.com