Clifford Donald Gottwerth, Jr. died on December 27, 2023 at the age of 84 at Pennsburg Manor.

Born in 1939, he was the son of Clifford Gottwerth and Doris Emily (nee Fagan) Gottwerth. Known as "Don", he was raised in the west ward of Newark, NJ, attended and became a member of Clinton Hill Baptist Church at age 10 and graduated from Southside High School in 1957. His interests as a youth included playing the oboe in the Young Man's Symphony Orchestra, being active in Bible clubs and church related activities including working 4 summers at Pinebrook Bible Conference in PA under the direction of Percy Crawford. In addition, he had more than a passing interest in airplanes, and was drawn to join a local Newark Fire Engine Company as a volunteer, which he participated in for some years and where his lifelong friend Paul Bischoff also served.

After his graduation from high school, from about 1958 to 1960 Don began to pursue a ministerial career at Northern Baptist Theological College in Chicago and then also at Lexington Baptist College in Kentucky. At both schools he worked numerous side jobs to help meet living expenses. It was while in Lexington that he became aware of a young aspiring preacher named Albert N. Martin. It was also during this period that he met a young woman named Evelyn Struckmeyer at a Christian youth rally.

In all likelihood, because of finances, he was not able to stay in school on a full time basis and the threat of being drafted if you were not in college became a looming concern. Therefore to avoid that, he enlisted in the US Air Force and began his four year term in January 1962. In April of that same year he married Evelyn Louise Struckmeyer in Essex Fells, NJ. His first assignment with the Air Force was as a fire fighter at Loring Air Force Base (AFB) in Presque Isle, ME. In early 1964 they were reassigned to Suffolk County AFB in Long Island NY where their first daughter was born. They remained on Long Island another two years where their second child  was also born. In 1966 Don entered reserve status with the Air Force and initially found civilian employment as a bus driver back in the familiar territory of Newark and its surrounding towns. The Newark riots of the late sixties prompted him to search for better employment which took the form of a security guard at the Exxon refinery in Linden NJ. He worked at Exxon from 1968 until his retirement in 1994. The last seven years with Exxon were spent in a customer service role in the Bayway Scale Operation, where he served and interacted with truck drivers, a position he thoroughly enjoyed.

When Don left the Air Force in 1966, his growing family relocated to an apartment in Ivy Hill Newark, where their third child was born. It was also during this time that he reconnected with his friend Paul Bischoff and began attending a new church called Trinity Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Albert N. Martin in 1967 where they attended for more than 25 years. In 1970 they were able to purchase a house in Irvington, NJ, which became home for the next 28 years and where their fourth child was born. In the 70's and 80's Don took a large interest in local politics. In the 1980's he was elected for two terms as a councilman and also served one year on the Board of Education.

In 1998 Don and Evelyn sold their home in Irvington and relocated to a retirement village in Whiting, NJ where Evelyn would be able to care for her mother. In their early days in Whiting, Don would get involved with some of the community politics, helping other elderly people, and enjoying his love of music.

He is recently preceded in death by his wife Evelyn, who he was married to for 61 years. He is survived by his only sister, Gail Vargas & husband Frank of Middletown, NJ and his four children: Doreen McIlwraith & husband Howard of Perkasie, PA; Daniel Gottwerth & wife Deb of Elkton, MD; Donna Basciano of Emmaus, PA; Carla Wilking & husband Glen of Mebane, NC. Don also had 10 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, and 2 step great grandchildren as well as several nephews and one niece.

His funeral service will be held at 9:30 AM on January 5, 2024 at the Suess-Gahman Funeral Home, 606 Arch Street, Perkasie, PA.  Interment will be held privately in a VA cemetery in NJ.

Clifford's funeral service can be streamed via zoom, please use the passcode 987654. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84208715648pwd=STJIMndHU2hxVVB3b3JRbHljbG53dz09