William Joseph “Bill” McCrystal died on Sept 12, 2013 at Morristown Medical Center. He was 83. Visitation will be at Davis & Hepplewhite Funeral Home, 96 Main St, Succasunna, NJ 07876 (www.davishepplewhitefh.com) on Sunday, Sept.15 from 2 to 6 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 at St. Mary’s Church, 425 West Blackwell St, Dover. Burial will be at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Succasunna.

            Bill was born and raised in Jersey City. Upon graduation from St. Peter’s Prep, he entered the Society of Jesus and was a Jesuit for nearly 10 years, 3 of which were spent teaching Latin and directing the Glee Club at Brooklyn Prep. He attained both his BA and MA in Classical Languages from Fordham. Bill briefly worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in NYC before joining the faculty of Essex Catholic High School in Newark and later East Orange, where for 29 years he taught Latin, German, and English, and was a department chairman. Bill then taught Latin for 11 years at Wayne Hills High School, where his students consistently won awards in Classics competitions. He spent the last 8 of his 51 years in the classroom at Oratory Prep in Summit, where he taught alongside his son.

            Over the years, Bill, a gifted tenor, sang with the Jesuit Seminary octet, Metropolitan Life Glee Club, church choirs, and the Masterwork Chorus. Bill enjoyed Drum Corps, classical music, fishing, trips to the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain, bird watching, old movies, sports, and his pets.

            Bill was predeceased by his brother J. Robert “Bob” McCrystal. He is survived by his wife Mary Ellen nee Wormann, son and daughter-in-law William “Billy” and Erica nee McKeever McCrystal, his sister-in-law Patricia McCrystal, his nieces Mary Beth (Tom) Healy, Patty Sparling, Kathy (John) Eckel, and Jen (Kevin) Newell. He also leaves his father-in-law, his 8 sisters-in-law, 6 brothers-in-law, 16 nieces, 5 nephews, 4 grandnieces, and 7 grandnephews.

            In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Bill’s memory to 11th Hour Rescue (www.ehrdogs.org).