Obituary of Henry A. Rafferty

Henry A. Rafferty of the Lake Lackawanna section of Byram Twp., NJ passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 13, 2018 at home surrounded by his loving family. He was 88 years old. Henry was born on March 10, 1931 in New York City to the late William and the Jane (Leonard) Rafferty.

Mr. Rafferty was a longshoreman with ILA local 1 and ILA 824 for many years before retiring. Henry proudly served his country in the United States Navy during the Korean War, he was a member of the American Legion Post #278 and the VFW Post #2347. He coached football at Pope John the XXII High School and was an active member of the Byram Twp. Senior Citizens. Henry loved watching college basketball and his New York Rangers and had great stories of the "old" Madison Square Garden. He enjoyed his time coaching local sports and often reminisced about his many players and his time spent on the "West Side". Henry was a Notre Dame sports fan and an active parishioner of St. Michael's RC Church, but most importantly, Henry loved spending time with his cherished family.

Henry is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Patricia A. (Fasanella), his devoted sons, Bill Rafferty & his spouse, Marylou, Frank Rafferty & his wife, Patty, Daniel Rafferty & his wife, Jill and Raymond Rafferty & his wife Jill. Additional survivors include his cherished grandchildren, Michael Rafferty & his spouse, Kayla Anne, Matthew Rafferty, Caitlin Rafferty, Billy Rafferty, Nicholas Rafferty, Kelsey Rafferty, Danny Rafferty, Kristen Rafferty, Kelly Rafferty, Nicole Rafferty, Megan Rafferty and Erin Rafferty and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. He was pre-deceased by his sisters; Jane, Annie, Agnes and Margaret.

Henry's Life Celebration will include a visitation on Monday, March 18th from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home, 150 Landing Road, Landing, NJ 07850. There will be a funeral mass on Tuesday, March 19th at 10:00 am at St. Michael' RC Church, 4 Church Street, Netcong, NJ. Henry will be laid to rest at the Good Shepherd RC Cemetery in Green Twp., NJ. All services are entrusted to the Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home of Landing, NJ. For memorial donations please consider the Church St. Francis of Assisi at www.stfrancisnyc.org/giving/ or the Byram Township Fire department, PO box 361, Andover, NJ 07821