Peter Ludwig Chraplewski, of Closter, passed away peacefully on May 24, at the age of 85, after a 5 year battle with dementia. He was predeceased by his loving wife Jeanean whose battle with dementia ended 3 years earlier.

He is survived by his daughter Michele Tivnan and her husband Thomas of York, Maine; his son Michael Chraplewski and his wife Alexandra of Claremont, California; his grandchildren Kendall and Luke Chraplewski; and his brother Jan Caron of Saarbrucken, Germany.

Peter was born in Berlin, Germany, then lived in Brussels, Belgium, before immigrating to New York City when he was 13. He graduated from Bedford-Stuyvesant High School, went on to Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, and later earned a Master's Degree in Hospital Administration from Long Island University.  It was in New York City that he met and married Jeanean, and where they started their family.  In 1965, they moved to Closter to raise that family.

At times in his life, Peter was faced with extreme challenges; challenges that he accepted with grace, confidence, and a never-ending sense of humor.  He simply played the hand that he was dealt.

In 1939, Peter, along with his brother, his parents and over 900 other Jewish refugees, sailed to Cuba on the S.S. St. Louis to escape the Nazi threat.  Cuba's government refused to allow the ship to land, and the family was relocated to Belgium, where they lived until his father succumbed from treatments he received in the concentration camps. In 1950, Peter, along with his mother and brother began a new life in Washington Heights, NY.

Peter retired from his position as Director of Pharmacy at Metropolitan Hospital in 1995 to embark on what was undoubtedly the most difficult and yet fulfilling challenge of his life - to care for Jeanean as she progressed through her 26 year battle with dementia.  Throughout Jeanean's decline, his devotion never wavered. He remained unflappable, relying on his pragmatism, his diligence, and of course, his sense of humor.   As the same disease unfairly began to rob him of his faculties, he never lost his optimism nor his independence.  Peter was a true hero.

A graveside service will be held at 1:00 pm on Thursday June 2nd at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.   The family asks that in lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution be made to the Closter Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Corps at https://cvarcnj.org/