“Country roads, take me home/To the place I belong” (John Denver)

Roy C. Schriever, 63, of Denville, passed away peacefully at Morristown Memorial Hospital on July 1 after an eight-week battle with Covid-19. His passing reminds all that knew him of the impact of a kind gesture, a friendly wave, and a positive attitude.

Roy began working for the NJ Department of Transportation at seventeen years old, starting as a maintenance worker and working his way up to area supervisor before retiring in 2014.

Dedicated career and volunteer firemen have surrounded Roy his entire life. He began volunteering at age 18 in Secaucus and eventually joined the Denville Volunteer Fire Department. He has been an active volunteer fireman for the last 45 years. It is true what they say about the “brotherhood” as many of the friends Roy made through the fire department became more like family.

When he wasn’t obsessing over his lawn, he could be found hunting, fishing, or hanging out with his best friends in his bungalow. Some of his yearly trips included fishing in the Florida Keys, hunting in Indiana, and four-wheeling in Canada. With Roy, there was never a topic too crude to discuss or a day too busy to help out a friend. His best days were spent “shootin’ the shit”, with a cold beer in hand.

Roy leaves behind the love of his life, Jo Ann (Corea), to whom he was married for the last 41 years. As high school sweethearts who grew up in Secaucus, they eventually moved to the Indian Lake section of Denville in 1981 to start a family. His greatest joy was raising two children, with whom he was very close. To them, he was known as “Bud” because he was more than a dad; he was also their buddy. He was a living example of what it means to love hard and play hard. He never wasted an opportunity to show people he cared. These are the qualities that will live on in his children and grandchildren. Bud leaves behind many fond memories with his daughter, “Snooks”(Jennifer), and son-in-law, Chris Skomial, and his son, “Buck” (Jason), and favorite daughter-in-law, Rebecca Schriever. Although many saw Roy as a “man’s man”, he was a softy when it came to his grandchildren. For the last seven years, Roy was known as “Pop Pop” to Hudson and Avery Schriever, and Bradyn, Kendall, and Taylor Skomial.

Roy also leaves behind his brother, John, and sister-in-law, Marie Schriever, and other family, including: Stephen and Barbara Schacht, Dominick and Carol Zito, many nieces and nephews, and his four-legged hunting partner, Tucker.

The Denville Volunteer Fire Department will hold a short memorial service outside the Main Street Firehouse on Saturday, July 18^th at 10 AM. A Celebration of Life will be planned for a future date when we can all be together safely. We hope you will join us at that time to celebrate a life well lived.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to a charity that supports first responders and their families such as Tunnel2towers.org

Gone Fishin'