Clifford Lauterhahn Obituary

Cliff Lauterhahn
Counselor, Family Man, Irishman
Clifford Robert Lauterhahn, born on February 27, 1943, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Montclair, NJ, passed away peacefully at home in East Orange NJ on June 26, 2025. Cliff died the way he lived, surrounded by the large Irish family he loved, i.e. his wife Mary Lou plus his 6 children and numerous grands. A strong Irishman and a staunch Catholic, Cliff was a member of Immaculate Conception parish. In his professional life, he had a long and storied career as a high school counselor known for his gentle kindness, clear wisdom, straight shooting and light humor. Cliff attended St. Peter's Prep and graduated from St. Peter's College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Education. He then went on to earn a master's degree in counseling from Seton Hall University. He began his career with two years as Assistant Dean of Students at Bloomfield College followed by 13 years as the Guidance Counselor at DePaul High School in Wayne, NJ. During his counseling career, Cliff served for 30 years as Student Assistance/Guidance Counselor for the Regional Berkeley Heights Board of Education. Besides being a devoted and dedicated father to his own children, his deep belief in education as well as his instinctive understanding of teenagers and guiding them made him a well loved counselor even as he well loved his life's chosen work. A longtime fan of college sports and often seen in many college T-shirts and sweatshirts, Cliff Lauterhahn was also a dedicated son of old Ireland attending Irish parties and parades, celebrations and the legendary Irish weddings, wakes and funerals.
A devoted family man, Cliff was inspired by his parents Anne (Lennon) and Clifford Howard Lauterhahn and by his grandparents with whom he was close, John and Florence Murray Rolleri and Joseph and Anna Eddy Lennon and by a predeceased sister Joan Lauterhahn Mulcahy, along with many aunts, uncles and cousins. Cliff was famous for spending hours, days, months, years, years, years, years and years with his children and grandchildren. Reminiscences of Cliff by his prolific progeny includes attendance at every sports game, theatrical show or musical recital; memorable trips out West and to Broadway, to the bank(for lollipops), and to the beach; for giving cogent advice as well as support and generosity via candy, toys, sandwiches, babysitting,
financial funding, love and laughs. Cliff is survived by his wife of 54 years, Mary Lou Callahan Lauterhahn, their children James Callahan Lauterhahn (Lisa) of Watertown, SD,
David Patrick of East Orange, Stephen Robert (Lauren) of Caldwell, NJ, John Timothy (Kelley) of Holbrook, MA, Anne (Jameel) of West Orange and Patricia Dejeronimo (James) of Roselle Park, NJ, plus 11 grandchildren: Sean, Ian, David, Danny, Jack, Kaelyn, James Jr. Joan, Jarren, Odin and Cal. Cliff is also survived by his loving siblings Virginia (Ginny), Robert (Bobby), Richard (Rick), and John (Jack)
Visitation will be held from 4:00-8:00 PM on June 30th at Moriarty Funeral Home, 76 Park Street, Montclair, NJ 07042. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on July 1 at Immaculate Conception Church, 30 N Fullerton Ave Montclair NJ 07042.
In lieu of flowers, anyone interested in contributing in Cliff's honor, the Lauterhahn family requests a donation to the
Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (scnj.org).