Obituaries for Aug. 22, 2018

Zenon Jankiewicz

Zenon Jankiewicz, of Kearny, died peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018

He was 90.

Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, Harrison. Cremation was private.

Zenon was born in Choromce, Poland, Sept. 15, 1927. 

During World War II, he was forced to work at a labor camp in Germany. After the end of the war, he assisted the U.S. Army as a guard and translator during the Nuremberg Trials. Zenon immigrated to the United States in 1952, where he lived in Harrison and enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving until 1957.

While stationed in Germany as a U.S. soldier, he met his wife Brigitte.  Together, they returned to the United States where Zenon was employed for many years as a machinist/foreman for Kleer Kast Plastic Company in Kearny.

Zenon was a fun-loving jokester who enjoyed gardening, watching the New York Yankees, crabbing, tinkering in his workshop and doing his homework (word search puzzles). He also loved spending time with his family and going on cruises with his beloved wife.

Zenon was married for 62 years to his devoted wife Brigitte (nee Poser).

He is survived by his loving sons, Glenn, Michael and Mark and his wife Cynthia; his loving daughters Dorothy Cole and her husband James and Linda Sherry and her husband Robert. He was also the loving father of the-late Rita Bowman; brother of Irene Oeckel and the-late Henryk Jankiewicz, Rozalia Zambrzycki, Genevieve Sessa and Anthony Jankiewicz.  

Also surviving are Zenon’s grandchildren, Glenn, Brandon, Melissa, Kristyn, Jennifer, Robert, Amanda and Alexander and five great-grandchildren. 

He was a caring godfather to Wanda Nittolo (nee Zambrzycki), Paul Oeckel and Bernadette Sessa and is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his grandson Kristopher.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to the N.J. Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park, Attn: Recreation Department, 132 Evergreen Road, Edison, N.J. 08837.

Roberto R. Rodriguez

Roberto R. Rodriguez died Aug. 11, 2018.

He was 68.

Born in Santiago De Cuba, Cuba, he lived in Kearny since 1965.

Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Cecilia Church. Cremation was private. 

Roberto was the former husband of Linda Rodriguez and son of Miriam (Velez) and the-late Guillarmo Rodriguez. He is also survived by his daughter Linda and his brothers William and Javier.

Alberta (Babe) Hill

Alberta (Babe) Hill, 87, (nee Newton), died on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, from Alzheimer’s disease.

Babe was born Jan. 15, 1931, in Newark and grew up in North Arlington where her parents, the late Max and Alberta Newton, owned and operated the Forest Dairy. She lived in Belleville for many years where she raised her family and was active in the Boy and Girl scouts and with Fewsmith Church.

She was employed by Bell Labs at AT&T/Lucent Technologies until her retirement in 1996. She lived for many years in Kearny before moving to Connecticut last year as her health declined.

Babe loved to travel, especially to her family’s farm in Vermont. She enjoyed family, and having thoughtful conversations over a good cup of coffee.

Babe was pre-deceased by her former husband, Charles S. Hill; two brothers, Herbert and Daniel Newton, and her sister, Eleanor (Sis) Newton.

She is survived by two daughters, Margy Hill and Bette Day Stern (Paul); two sons, Charles S. Hill II (Patricia) and David W. Hill (Jan); 11 grandchildren, Jessica Cobb, Ben Stern, Mandy Stern-Pirlot, Becky Stern, Leanna, Colleen, Melanie and Christopher Hill and D.J., Jordon and Tyler Hill; and five great-grandchildren, Billy Stern, Lilly and Clara Stern-Pirlot, Harold Hill and Harley Cobb.

The funeral service will take place in the funeral home on Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in Arlington Cemetery, Kearny.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at Alz.org. We need to find a cure.

Joan M. McCann

Mrs. Joan M. McCann (nee Miller) of Kearny died Thursday, Aug. 16, at home. 

She was 86.

The funeral Mass was celebrate Monday, Aug. 20, at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington. 

Joan is survived by her husband of 57 years, Robert W. McCann and her loving children, Beth McCann (Nigel Hankin), Michael R. McCann and Ellen J. Stoute. Also surviving are her cherished grandchildren, Alice, Julian, Emily, Gabriel and Isabelle as well as her brother, Edward Miller. 

She was predeceased by her brother, Joseph Miller.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider donations to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 140 Shepherd Lane, Totowa, N.J. 07512.

Marcelino Dios

Marcelino Dios, of Harrison, died at home, surrounded by his loving family, on Wednesday, Aug. 15th, 2018.  

He was 89.

Funeral services were under the direction of Mulligan Funeral Home, Harrison.  A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, Harrison. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.

Born in Riveira, Spain, Marcelino came to the United States in 1970, and eventually settled in Harrison. He worked as a tool and die maker for Wiss in Newark for 30+ years, retiring in 1999.

Prior to coming to the United States, he was a fisherman in Spain.

Anywhere there was music, you might have seen Marcelino dancing the night away, especially at the Polish Home in Harrison.

He will be greatly missed by his loving family, especially his beloved wife Edna; his loving children Jose and his wife Paula, Maria and Millie and her husband Tom; his cherished grandchildren Tommy, Kristin, Vanesa and Jose Luis; one great-grandchild Lucas; and his dear sister, Carmen. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

 To send a condolence message to his family, visit www.mulliganfh.com.

Benedicto Patricio

Benedicto Patricio, of Kearny, died Aug. 17, 2018.

He was 76.

Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. at Stephen’s Church. Cremation will be private.

Ben was the husband of Vilma and father of Bennie and Billie Patricio. He was the brother of the-late Corazon Larracas, Aida Tamayo, Lydia Dulay, Elvira Ferrer and Federico Patricio. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.