Peter P. Horvath

Peter P. Horvath, age 76, unexpectedly passed away on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, while traveling at Fulton County Health Center in Wauseon, Ohio. Born in Budapest, Hungary to the late John and Rozalia (Biro) Horvath, Peter lived in Montague before moving to Passaic then Clifton. He attended Rider College and received his Mortuary Science degree from McAllister School of Embalming. Peter was the owner of Horvath Funeral Service of Passaic and the Horvath Funeral Home in Clifton. In 1974, he purchased the Pinkel Funeral Home in Sussex. He served as president of the Bergen County Funeral Directors Association, president of Tri-County Funeral Directors Assciation, president of the N.J. State Funeral Directors Association, and former president of the Board of Trustees for the pre-paid Funeral Trust Fund. He also served on the New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation. Peter was a former member of the New Jersey State Board of Mortuary Science, the regulatory agency for the Consumer Affairs Department and also served as the Secretary of the Board. He had been appointed by Gov. Whitman in 1995. Peter was a member of the Advisory Board of Mount Ida College for Mortuary Science in Newton Centre, Massachussetts. He was an active member of St. Monica’s Parish in Sussex and served as an usher and Eucharistic Minister. While living in Clifton, he attended St. John Kanty Church and was president of the Parish Council and Holy Name Society. Peter was past president of the Wallkill Valley Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow recipient, and former Governor's Aide for District 747. He was an exempt member of the Sussex Fire Department. Peter was a member of the Judson Kilpatrick Knights of Columbus and also a member of the PDS Dominick A. Calabrese 4th Degree Knights of Columbus and Color Corps. Peter was a member of the former Samaritan Masonic Lodge No. 98 in Hardyston and a current member of the Kittatinny Lodge. He was a trustee of the Wantage Grange, a former member of the Lakeland Advisory Board in Wantage and a member of the Sussex-Wantage Board of Education. In Sussex Borough, Peter served as a councilman and then mayor for 12 years. He was president of the Board of Health, member of the Zoning and Planning Boards and former police and fire commissioner.

He was a member of the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton. Peter enjoyed spending time in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and was president of the Hilton Head Resort and member of Port Royal Plantation Club. Peter is survived by his wife of 52 years, JoAnn (Pojanowski) Horvath; and his daughter, Alexis P. Horvath and her husband, Charles H. Fronheiser, Jr., of Sussex. Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at St. Monica R.C. Church, 33 Unionville Avenue, Sussex Borough.

Interment to follow at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. Friends may pay their respects to the family from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at the Pinkel Funeral Home, 31 Bank Street (Route 23), Sussex. Memorial donations may be made in memory of Peter P. Horvath to the New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation, Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box L, Manasquan, NJ

08736. Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.pinkelfuneralhome.com.