Michael “Skip” Hirschmann Jr, of Hamilton, New Jersey, passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 6, 2026, at 86 years young.

Michael was born in and lived most of his life in the Trenton/Hamilton area. Kinter Avenue was his home from childhood through his senior years. He never married or had children but watched over his aging parents and his little sister, Eileen, and her entire family who lived in their own home in Michael’s backyard. With Eileen’s family, he helped to maintain beautiful gardens and landscaping with a fishpond that both families enjoyed together.

After completing his high school education and a short attempt at working in his father’s business as a professional wallpaper hanger, Michael enlisted in the Army and was a Vietnam veteran. He set up camps before bigger amounts of troops arrived and became a radio operator. He earned honors as an expert rifle marksman, and was decorated with AFEM and good conduct medals.

Upon returning home, Michael worked for the NJ Department of Taxation in the Records Department in Trenton. He initially served as a clerk and enjoyed the company of co-workers immensely. The dependable tree of strength, he hauled and delivered records boxes between state government buildings. This was during the time of dot matrix printing. He was happy to retire after 30 years of heavy lifting in that career but kept in shape.

He trained at the Hamilton YMCA for years after retirement and walked on a treadmill every weekday. Michael was active in the Hamilton Senior Center with his friends and companion Theresa Kettner. He enjoyed television shows about nature and wildlife and music inspired by it. Most of all, Michael was a voracious reader and had his own immense library. His favorite books were a trilogy showing the comeback journey of the dwindling wolf population in Yellowstone.

When Michael finally needed assistance and care in his late seventies, his sister, Eileen Kish, and his niece, Michele Richter asked him to move for the first time in his life. Even with his entire lifetime spent in one house, he went without hesitation. To Michael, one of most easy-to-please people on the planet, everything was always “alright.” He and his family are grateful to the entire staff of Foothill Acres Rehab in Hillsborough, NJ for his loving medical care, along with bingo and blackjack games. He also found a hidden talent of colored pencil artistry there, vibrantly coloring many pictures of the wolves he loved.

Funeral services will begin at 10 am on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, from Kingston & Kemp Funeral Home, 260 White Horse Ave., Hamilton, NJ, followed by Catholic mass at 10:30 am at Saint Raphael-Holy Angels Church, 3500 South Broad Street, Hamilton, NJ

Burial will follow at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery at 400 Woolsey Street, Hamilton, NJ.

Relatives and friends may visit on Tuesday from 9 to 10 am at the funeral home.

Michael’s family appreciates planting trees or flowers this spring and thinking of him.