IN MEMORIAM

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​William H. Francis passed away on August 24, 2021 at the age of 88.  A dedicated member of the West Milford Lions Club, Bill was a resident of West Milford for the past 52 years.  Born in Queens, NY he was employed by American Cyanamid of Wayne, NJ as an international traveling manager and retired in 1995, after which he worked at Greenwood Space Center and then at West Milford Town Hall until early 2020.  Bill had many interests, including learning to play piano later in life, playing Frisbee-golf, dining out with friends and spending time with his beloved family.   He was a member of West Milford Presbyterian Church where he was a Deacon and a member of the church choir.  Bill was predeceased by his wife of 38 years, and is survived by one daughter, three sons, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.  He will be greatly missed.
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One of our valued and beloved  members,  Charles ("Chuck”) G. Enering, 64, of Vernon, passed away in late February, 2020 at the Morristown Medical Center after a long battle with stomach cancer.  Chuck was a long volunteer of the West Milford community and one of the founders of the West Milford Presbyterian Church Food Pantry and was heavily involved with the Boy Scouts.


Chuck was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up in River Vale.  He graduated from Bergen County Technical High School in 1974.
Chuck married Kathryn (“Kathi”) E. Moser in 1982, and they raised two sons in West Milford. After living there for over 30 years, he and Kathi moved to Vernon in late 2019.
Chuck worked in the advertising and printing industry his entire career. He specialized in large-scale print campaigns for department and grocery chains throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He subsequently founded Highlands Printing in West Milford and dedicated his talents to helping local churches, community organizations, and small businesses meet their printing needs.
Chuck contributed his boundless energy, passion, and organizational skills to a wide variety of local volunteer and charity groups.
At various times, he was an elder, deacon, youth director, Vacation Bible School Coordinator, and Food Pantry Coordinator at the West Milford Presbyterian Church.
As a member of the Lions Club, he ran an annual coat drive, food drive, and community-wide Health Fair.
In addition to organizing a Christmas toy drive for local children, he held several leadership roles with Troop 144 and Troop 44 of the Boy Scouts of America.
Chuck also organized book collections for Rural Reading Centers Africa, a non-profit dedicated to combating illiteracy in rural Kenya.
Chuck will be dearly missed by our Club members along with the greater West Milford community.
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Diane (Wood) Eriksen passed away on Sept. 25, 2023. She was 78.  Diane was born in West Milford to Mildred and George Wood. She was raised in West Milford and lived in the house she was born in all her life.  She graduated from West Milford High School and attended the State Teachers College now known at William Paterson University. She received her master’s degree from Mary Grove College in Michigan.

Diane was a beloved math teacher at West Milford High School for 32 years.  She was a lifelong member of the West Milford Presbyterian Church, a Sunday School teacher, and was also active in the Women’s Association, spearheading the revival of the Christmas Bazaar.  She was a passionate and wonderful quilter and seamstress, always available to give a lesson or help with any questions.
Diane was well-known for painting and especially for her beautiful mailboxes, which were auctioned off at the annual church auction.  She loved the yard at her house and took pride in her beautiful flowers. 

​Diane loved all her little critters that would visit her in the back yard. She loved her tractor, and after many rehabs for her back, they let her drive the tractor again. The smile on her face was worth a million dollars. But that ended soon.  Diane was a member of the West Milford Lion’s Club Diane for 15 years and was always willing to help anyone who needed it. She will be missed by so many.
She was an amazing woman, aunt, great-aunt, great-great aunt and friend.