A retired Newark firefighter had a very public celebration Friday on his 100th birthday.
Theodore “Ted” Popovich — a father, grandfather and World War II veteran — watched with a big smile from the porch of his Cranford home as firefighters from Newark honored him with a ceremonial procession and presented him with a plaque.
Asked how it felt to reach 100, Popovich responded that it seemed like just another day.
“It feels no different than when I was 68,” Popovich said afterward while greeting guests inside his home, according to News 12.
Some family members flew in from Arizona to attend the ceremony, Newark Fire Chief Del Ortiz told NJ.com in advance of the gathering.
His daughter, Sue Philpot, was among those present.
Popovich joined the Newark Fire Department when he was 23, on Dec. 16, 1949. He was promoted to captain in 1967 and retired on May 1, 1982, Ortiz said.
The fire department at that time of his retirement was larger, with 872 members. Today, it has 651, Ortiz said.
Asked if any other former Newark firefighters have reached 100 years old, Ortiz said he isn’t sure — but at least not in recent history.
“Our digital archives only go so far back,” Ortiz said.
Popovich was born on Feb. 26, 1926, three years after the first Yankee Stadium opened and six years prior to Franklin Roosevelt being elected president.
He was the youngest of 14 children, according to Cranford Patch. His parents had immigrated from the former Czechoslovakia to Newark.
“We had very little growing up. Our wealth was in numbers … numbers of relatives who formed the fabric of our lives,” Popovich told Patch.
He joined the U.S. Army during World War II and was sent to Germany, where he earned the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, Ortiz said.
His wife of 73 years, Betty Joan Popovich, died in 2024.
Ortiz presented Popovich with a proclamation reading that his “century of life is a testament to resilience, dedication, and the strength of spirit.”
“We honor not only your longevity but also the countless moments of bravery and compassion that defined your years in service,” it read.
