John J. Radel, beloved husband, father
John J. Radel passed away in his home Wednesday, May 25, 2022. He was 87 years old and a 23-year Delaware resident.
John was a kind and generous man who loved his wife, his four sons, and extended family, and never failed to show it. John also loved his books, his music, traveling and a good joke. John is survived by his wife of over 64 years, Kerstin Palmgren-Radel; and sons, Gunnar Radel of Virginia, Mark Radel of South Carolina, James Radel of New Jersey, and Bengt Radel of Switzerland. He was blessed by 21 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and a large, loving, extended family, all of whom will miss him terribly.
John, a veteran of the Korean Conflict, was born in Long Branch, N.J., in 1934. He was raised single-handedly by his mother, Gertrude Lora McCarthy-Radel, after his father, John J. Radel Jr., tragically died shortly after the birth of his only child. John’s father was from an old Newark/South Orange family, and his mother, who was born in San Francisco, Calif., worked as a nurse in Newark, N.J.
Early on, John followed his artistic bent, and attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, then went on to attend Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, where he graduated with high honors. After brief attendance at MIT, where he had won a competitive scholarship, he was convinced that engineering was not the career he wished to pursue, so he left school and joined the U.S. Marines, having attained the rank of sergeant at his honorable discharge. He went on to complete his education at Seton Hall University in New Jersey under the G.I. Bill. He earned his bachelor of arts in 1960 and was awarded membership in the Cross and Crescent Honor Society. In 1963 he earned his master of arts, specializing in Asian studies and languages.
While an undergraduate, he worked for Time Magazine’s editorial staff (1956-61) in production and layout, where he met and soon after married his wife, Kerstin. He left Time Inc. to do graduate study under the NDFL grant, which he won three times. Then, having decided on teaching as a career, he also won teaching institutes under NDEA and Carnegie Foundation grants. In 1977, John was chosen by the National Humanities Foundation to be one of 50 teachers in the United States selected for a Master Teachers’ Program at the University of California in Santa Cruz. He completed further graduate studies at Jersey City State College, Rutgers and Georgetown Universities.
John taught high school for 36 years in New Jersey in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District, where from 1967-70, John served as director of the Title III Asian and Critical Language & Cultural Resource Center, and in 1971 also directed the Human Relations curriculum program. He has held several offices in his professional association, the PTHEA, as well.
Community service was always an important part of John’s long life, as illustrated by his nine years in scouting as committee chairman, explorer unit advisor and assistant district commissioner for Boy Scouts of America, West Morris, N.J. Additionally, he was a member and vice president of the board of trustees of the Parsippany Child Day Care Center for four years, helping to plan and oversee the construction of their new facility. From 1983-87, he was elected to serve on the Boonton Board of Education, where he was chairman of the educational committee. After retiring in Delaware, he helped with the ESL program in Georgetown for a few years.
John was a 40-plus-year member of the Swedish Organization, Vasa Order of America. He served as a cultural leader, vice chairman and chairman at the local lodge Three Crowns 704. At district level, he was a district deputy, district cultural leader, and served on the executive board for five years, from where he in 1992 was elected to be district master of the New Jersey District 6, Vasa Order of America.
According to John’s wishes, a private service with military honors will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, any contribution to either Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, or Sunday Breakfast Mission in Wilmington would have pleased John.
Online condolences may be sent by visiting melsonfuneralservices.com.
