Purple Heart And Pinstripes: Cranford Man, Army Vet On Turning 100-Years-Old

CRANFORD, NJ — If anyone deserves to have a birthday celebration that goes on for an entire year, it's someone who is turning 100, like Cranford's Ted Popovich.

On Feb. 20, Popovich will hit the centennial mark. While he said his family is his primary gift, he'll still be waiting months down the road wishing for his second favorite present.

"I'm hoping to have a quiet birthday celebration close to home with all of my family...and maybe to see just one more New York Yankees World Series win," Popovich added

Before any Bronx Bomber shade of blue hits the field in October, he will have the chance to celebrate his own shade of purple when America celebrates its 250th anniversary this July.

A Veteran of the U.S. Army, Popovich began serving in Germany during World War II and went on to earn a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.

After being injured in the War, he recovered and returned to Newark, where he was raised and built the first half of his life. He became a firefighter and eventually Captain of the city's fire department.

Born in 1926 in Taylor, Pennsylvania, Ted was the youngest of Mary and Michael Popovich's 14 kids. His parents had immigrated from Czechoslovakia and then relocated to Newark for better work.

"We had very little growing up. Our wealth was in numbers...numbers of relatives who formed the fabric of our lives," he added.

While stability was a major factor in his life, working at a transformer business for 60 years and being married for 73 years, he and his late wife Joan would travel the country and beyond on long drives to the likes of Florida, Michigan, and Canada.

Although he also loved to visit his only child, daughter Sue, and four grandkids in Arizona, Ted never wanted to leave Cranford.

"I simply enjoyed driving through the town with its beautiful tree-lined streets, the glistening river that winds through the town, the many parks...the iconic train station," added Popovich.

One of Popovich's neighbors gifted he and his wife a cherry blossom tree to mark their 25th wedding anniversary, which they planted that year in 1976. The tree still stands today in his front lawn as a symbol of their love and the "beauty" that they felt throughout Cranford.

"He is approaching this 100th birthday humbly, with a smile on his face, wondering how he has been blessed with such a wonderful, long life," his daughter added.

On any given day, friends and family can still find Ted recording himself singing to the likes of Frank Sinatra while adding his own random jokes between lines as a surprise to put a smile on the faces of others.

During his years, Popovich made sure to share the feeling of belonging that he felt was special in Cranford with generations down the line. Along with walking and running countless miles at Nomagehan Park, it's also the site where he taught his grandkids how to ride bikes and how to fish.

As someone who has met his fair share of neighbors over meals at the Rustic Mill Diner, Triestina Ristorante, and the Cranford Hotel over his nearly 53 years in the Township, it's "the way everyone comes together to help one another" that Popovich said continues to make him so proud of his little town.

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