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August 23, 2026
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 2 – 3 PM on Saturday, August 29, 2026 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 3 PM Celebration of Ed’s life will be held after the visitation hours.
Edward T. Safer, age 93, of Wayne for over sixty years, passed Sunday, August 23, 2026.
Ed was born and raised in Weehawken, the son of Jacob and Anna Safer. He grew up at 36 50th Street and graduated from Weehawken High School with the Class of 1950, where he enjoyed playing both baseball and soccer. After high school, Ed lived in Union City and Secaucus before settling in Wayne in 1965, when he and his family moved to Hillcrest Drive in the Packanack Lake section of town, which would become their longtime home.
After graduating from high school, Ed had the opportunity to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. The tryout was held in Ebbets field in Brooklyn and after he made the initial cut he was invited to travel all the way to Florida to play summer ball in Vero Beach. Ed’s friends and neighbors in his tenement building believed in him and wanted to see him have his chance. They all chipped in to help pay for his bus fare to Florida, a wonderful example of the support and encouragement Ed received from those around him.
Ed was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War and served from May 21, 1953 through April 19, 1955 and was Honorably discharged as a Sergeant. He also served for eight more years in the US Army Reserves.
Ed would drive Ruth home after High School, where their relationship began to blossom. Ruth’s parents quickly came to admire “Eddie,” believing he was a fine choice for their daughter, and gladly gave the couple their blessing. They married in 1956 at the First Reformed Church of Secaucus and went on to share fifty-four years of an eventful and loving marriage. Through all of life’s joys and challenges, they remained devoted partners, building a life and a family together.
In his youth, Ed worked alongside his family at their dry-cleaning business, Safer Cleaners, in Union City. His father was a tailor and his mother a seamstress, and together they built the business as a family. Following his military service, Ed returned to the family business and eventually relocated Safer Cleaners to Wayne. From 1965 until his retirement in 2006, Ed proudly operated Safer Cleaners in Wayne, where he employed generations of family members and friends and became a familiar and trusted presence in the community.
When Ed’s daughter, Joanne, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1983, Ed and Ruth devoted themselves to caring for and providing for her. It was not an easy journey, but for the next twenty-five years, they gave freely of their time, energy, personal freedom, and love to ensure that Joanne could remain at home surrounded by the people who loved her most. Their commitment was a true testament to the depth of a parent’s love and the sacrifices parents will make for their children, no matter how old they may be. Ed and Ruth cared for Joanne at home for twenty-five years until her passing in November 2008, never wavering in their devotion to her.
Ed was an easygoing, generous, and good-humored man whose life was defined by his devotion to his family, his faith, his country, and his community. A true family man, he cherished those he loved and extended that same care and affection to his extended family, treating them as though they were his own. Ed was always willing to give his time to others, serving as a coach, youth group leader, Sunday school teacher, and Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Indian Scout leader.
His faith was an important part of his life, and he was a longtime member of Packanack Community Church and St. Timothy’s Church, both in Wayne with his family and most recently The Chapel in Lincoln Park where he attended Sunday worship with his companion, Loretta Nichols. Loretta and Ed spent several years as friends and Ed enjoyed spending time with Loretta’s family down at the New Jersey shore where they summered in Loretta’s beach house.
He also generously volunteered his time to the Wayne Food Pantry. Whether guiding young people, helping a neighbor, serving his church, or simply sharing a laugh, Ed had a way of making people feel welcome, valued, and cared for. His kindness, humor, generosity, and unwavering devotion to those around him will be remembered and cherished by all who knew him.
Ed also had a deep love for animals and welcomed many beloved pets into his life over the years. Among the most memorable were his dogs Smokey, Elijah, Ginger, and Buddy, along with his cats Ben and Jerry. Each held a special place in his heart and brought companionship, joy, and plenty of cherished memories to Ed and his family.
Ed was the loving husband of fifty-four years to the late Ruth M. Safer (d. 2010); devoted father of Edward Safer, Jr. and his wife Lori of Galloway, Robert Safer and his wife Doreen of West Milford, Ruth Ellen Safer and her partner Pete Miceli of Fairfield, and the late Joanne Safer Collerd (d. 2008); loved brother of the late George W. Safer; cherished grandfather of ten grandchildren, Sami, Marissa, Rachel, Dylan, EJ, Casey, Robert, Kalista, Shannon and Jonathan.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to one of the following would be greatly appreciated:
PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07470
Wayne Packanack Lake Fire Company #5
5 Lake Drive W, Wayne, NJ 07470
St Judes Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38108-9959
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family from 2 – 3 PM on Saturday, August 29, 2026 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 3 PM Celebration of Ed’s life will be held after the visitation hours.
August 23, 2026
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 2 – 3 PM on Saturday, August 29, 2026 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 3 PM Celebration of Ed’s life will be held after the visitation hours.
Edward T. Safer, age 93, of Wayne for over sixty years, passed Sunday, August 23, 2026.
Ed was born and raised in Weehawken, the son of Jacob and Anna Safer. He grew up at 36 50th Street and graduated from Weehawken High School with the Class of 1950, where he enjoyed playing both baseball and soccer. After high school, Ed lived in Union City and Secaucus before settling in Wayne in 1965, when he and his family moved to Hillcrest Drive in the Packanack Lake section of town, which would become their longtime home.
After graduating from high school, Ed had the opportunity to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. The tryout was held in Ebbets field in Brooklyn and after he made the initial cut he was invited to travel all the way to Florida to play summer ball in Vero Beach. Ed’s friends and neighbors in his tenement building believed in him and wanted to see him have his chance. They all chipped in to help pay for his bus fare to Florida, a wonderful example of the support and encouragement Ed received from those around him.
Ed was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War and served from May 21, 1953 through April 19, 1955 and was Honorably discharged as a Sergeant. He also served for eight more years in the US Army Reserves.
Ed would drive Ruth home after High School, where their relationship began to blossom. Ruth’s parents quickly came to admire “Eddie,” believing he was a fine choice for their daughter, and gladly gave the couple their blessing. They married in 1956 at the First Reformed Church of Secaucus and went on to share fifty-four years of an eventful and loving marriage. Through all of life’s joys and challenges, they remained devoted partners, building a life and a family together.
In his youth, Ed worked alongside his family at their dry-cleaning business, Safer Cleaners, in Union City. His father was a tailor and his mother a seamstress, and together they built the business as a family. Following his military service, Ed returned to the family business and eventually relocated Safer Cleaners to Wayne. From 1965 until his retirement in 2006, Ed proudly operated Safer Cleaners in Wayne, where he employed generations of family members and friends and became a familiar and trusted presence in the community.
When Ed’s daughter, Joanne, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1983, Ed and Ruth devoted themselves to caring for and providing for her. It was not an easy journey, but for the next twenty-five years, they gave freely of their time, energy, personal freedom, and love to ensure that Joanne could remain at home surrounded by the people who loved her most. Their commitment was a true testament to the depth of a parent’s love and the sacrifices parents will make for their children, no matter how old they may be. Ed and Ruth cared for Joanne at home for twenty-five years until her passing in November 2008, never wavering in their devotion to her.
Ed was an easygoing, generous, and good-humored man whose life was defined by his devotion to his family, his faith, his country, and his community. A true family man, he cherished those he loved and extended that same care and affection to his extended family, treating them as though they were his own. Ed was always willing to give his time to others, serving as a coach, youth group leader, Sunday school teacher, and Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Indian Scout leader.
His faith was an important part of his life, and he was a longtime member of Packanack Community Church and St. Timothy’s Church, both in Wayne with his family and most recently The Chapel in Lincoln Park where he attended Sunday worship with his companion, Loretta Nichols. Loretta and Ed spent several years as friends and Ed enjoyed spending time with Loretta’s family down at the New Jersey shore where they summered in Loretta’s beach house.
He also generously volunteered his time to the Wayne Food Pantry. Whether guiding young people, helping a neighbor, serving his church, or simply sharing a laugh, Ed had a way of making people feel welcome, valued, and cared for. His kindness, humor, generosity, and unwavering devotion to those around him will be remembered and cherished by all who knew him.
Ed also had a deep love for animals and welcomed many beloved pets into his life over the years. Among the most memorable were his dogs Smokey, Elijah, Ginger, and Buddy, along with his cats Ben and Jerry. Each held a special place in his heart and brought companionship, joy, and plenty of cherished memories to Ed and his family.
Ed was the loving husband of fifty-four years to the late Ruth M. Safer (d. 2010); devoted father of Edward Safer, Jr. and his wife Lori of Galloway, Robert Safer and his wife Doreen of West Milford, Ruth Ellen Safer and her partner Pete Miceli of Fairfield, and the late Joanne Safer Collerd (d. 2008); loved brother of the late George W. Safer; cherished grandfather of ten grandchildren, Sami, Marissa, Rachel, Dylan, EJ, Casey, Robert, Kalista, Shannon and Jonathan.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to one of the following would be greatly appreciated:
PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07470
Wayne Packanack Lake Fire Company #5
5 Lake Drive W, Wayne, NJ 07470
St Judes Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38108-9959
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