Obituaries

Michael Angelo Cowley 

Michael Angelo Cowley entered into eternal rest on Monday, Jan. 12, surrounded by his loving family. He was 57.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Avenue, Harrison. A funeral Mass was held at Holy Cross Church, Harrison. For information, or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com.

Born in Jersey City, Cowley was a lifelong resident of Harrison. He worked as a roofer and sider for his family construction business, Cowley Construction, for many years. He was a member of the Harrison/ East Newark Elks B.P.O.E. Lodge 2326. His pastimes and hobbies included playing baseball, basketball, bowling, darts, and karaoke. He was a diehard N.Y. Yankees fan.

He is survived by his loving daughter Samantha Vieira and her husband, Danny, grandchildren, Eann “Little Buddy” and Jenna “Ya Ya” Viera, dear siblings Robert, Gary and Patrick “Pee Wee” Cowley, Carol Sheridan, and George and Edward “Shitter” Cowley. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his sister Joann Villaronga, and his parents, Robert and Agnes (nee Ritchie) Cowley.

In lieu of flowers, for those desiring, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association P.O. Box 3049, Syracuse, N.Y. 13220-3049 or at www.heart.org in loving memory of Michael.

Francisco DaSilva 

Francisco DaSilva passed away on Jan. 13. He was 60.

Born in Azambuja, Portugal, he lived in Harrison before moving to Kearny in 2002.

Arrangements were by the Armitage Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. A funeral Mass was held at St. Cecilia’s Church, followed by entombment in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Francisco loved sports and enjoyed being involved with his Portuguese community and especially loved playing soccer for Lisa.

Husband of Rosa (nee Seco), he is also survived by his sons Rodrigo (Michelle) and Danny DaSilva and his grandsons Bryan and Brandon.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in his memory.

Joseph D. Dreisbach

Joseph D. Dreisbach, 49, of Kearny died on Saturday, Jan. 17, at home.

The viewing will be held in the Condon Funeral Home (condonfuneralhome.com), 684 Kearny Ave., Kearny, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 3 to 7 p.m. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery. Joe was a client of Pathways to Independence, Inc., in Kearny for over 30 years where he enjoyed working with his friends and devoted staff.

Joe was the son of Julia (nee McMillan) Dreisbach and the late Albert W. Dreisbach Jr. He is survived by his siblings Dr. Albert W. Dreisbach, Elizabeth Dreisbach, DVM, Grace Mack (Dave), Jack Dreisbach (Diane) and Rich Dreisbach (Tina). Also surviving are his nieces and nephews Scott, Kate, Megan, Jake, Eric, Skyler, Kyle, Jordan and Riley. He also leaves his beloved caregiver Margaret Flomo.

In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations in Joe’s memory to Pathways to Independence, Inc., 60 Kingsland Ave, Kearny, N.J. 07032.

Margaret E. Fix 

Margaret E. Fix, of Kearny, passed away on Jan. 13 at St. Michael’s Hospital, Newark. She was 83.

Arrangements were by the Armitage Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. A funeral Mass was held at St. Cecilia’s Church and followed by burial in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Margaret was the executive secretary at St. Cecilia’s Church, Kearny, having assisted dozens of priests over many years. She was proud to still be working.

She was an avid sports fan.

Margaret was the sister of the late Charles, Lawrence, John and Edward Fix. She is survived by her sister-in-law Gloria Fix and many nieces and nephews along with their families.

In lieu of flowers, please support the Wounded Warrior Project.

Linda A. Hudanich 

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Linda A. Hudanich, entered into eternal rest on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Alaris Health Care of Kearny. She was 64.

The funeral will be conducted from the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Ave., Harrison, on Tuesday Jan. 20, at 9:45 a.m. A funeral Mass will follow at 10:30 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Her interment will take place in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Olyphant, Pa. Viewing hours will be Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. For information, directions, or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com.

Born in Lackawanna County, Pa., she lived in Kearny before moving to Harrison eight years ago. Linda was a devoted teacher with Harrison Board of Education for more than 30 years, retiring in 2013. She was a member of the New Jersey Education Association.

She took post-graduate studies at New York University, N.Y., and she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kean University, Union.

Linda is survived by her loving niece, Juliana Marie Trovato (nee Petrokowitz) and her husband, Andrew, and a sister, Sandra Petrokowitz. She was predeceased by her parents, John Hudanich and Helen (nee Rutkowski)

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105 or in care of the funeral home in loving memory of Linda.

Malcolm M. McCallum 

Malcolm M. McCallum, 86, of Toms River, passed away on Jan. 9 at his home.

He was born Dec. 22, 1928, in Kearny.

Malcolm was the son of William and Margaret (Rainey) McCallum.

The Grand Masonic Lodge honored Malcolm as a Master Mason for 60 years of masonic service.

Malcolm was predeceased by his wife Katherine (Elliot) McCallum and son William McCallum. He is survived by his son Robert McCallum and wife Viviana of Kearny and daughter June Michael and her husband Bill, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Cross Junction, Va.

Francis (Frank) McConville 

Frank McConville was born Dec. 22, 1939, and passed away Dec. 21, 2014, in Madeira Beach, Fla.

He was born and raised in Harrison. He lived in Kearny where he raised his family until he moved to Madeira Beach in 2000.

He worked for Supermarkets General before retiring in the late 1990s.

He loved soccer, the beach and, most of all, watching his grandchildren play soccer and run marathons.

Frank was predeceased by his wife Gloria and son Frank He his survived by his daughter Gina Anderson (Allan), grandchildren Alana Kandt (Ben), Brianne Anderson, Ian McConville and sister Cathy Bimble.

Recaredo Munoz 

Recaredo Munoz died at home on Jan. 12. He was 86.

Born in Cuba, he lived in Harrison before moving to Kearny.

Arrangements were by the Armitage Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. (www.armitagewiggins. com) A funeral Mass was held at St. Cecilia’s Church, Kearny, followed by entombment in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.

Recaredo owned Florida Shoe Store and Bostonian Shoe Store, both in Newark.

Husband of Nora (Sanchez), he is survived by his children Nora Delgado and Gabriel Munoz, his brothers Ramon, Juan and Raul and his grandchildren Gabriel, Lauren and Brendan.

John I. Passerella Sr. 

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John I. Passerella Sr. passed away at 97 on Jan. 12.

A funeral Mass will be held Friday, Jan. 23, in the chapel at St. Gregory the Great Church, 4620 Nottingham Way, in Hamilton Square, at 11 a.m. All are welcome.

John was born in Staten Island, N.Y., and later moved to Kearny. He was an active member of the Kearny community for many years. He served as the president of the Italian- American Marconi Club and was the Grand Marshal for the Columbus Day parade back in the 1980s. He even wrote a few stories for The Observer.

In 1984, John retired at the age of 67 from Goodyear in Newark. Two years later, he moved to Stirling, and then to Tucson, Ariz., in 2003 with his beloved wife, son and daughter-in-law where he happily lived out the rest of his days building model ships, attending a senior center where he sang songs, made friends and called bingo numbers, and he loved baking cheesecakes and cookies right until the end. He had an amazing passion for life.

John was predeceased by his cherished wife Angelina (Lee) and is survived by his son John Passerella Jr. and daughter-in-law Josephine (Tucson, Ariz.) and grandchildren Debbie Muscara with her husband Alessio (Hamilton) and John B. Passerella with his wife Karrie (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and his daughter Rita Larkin (Clifton). John also had seven great-grandchildren and two greatgreat- grandchildren.

John always had a joke to tell or a magic trick to show and was loved by everyone who met him. He is dearly missed.

Ruth Polinski 

Ruth Polinski (nee Davis) 86, died on Jan. 11 at her home in Kearny.

Arrangements were by the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. A funeral Mass was offered at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Kearny. Private interment was in Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.thielereid.com.

Mrs. Polinski was born in Kearny and raised in Harrison. She had lived in Kearny since 1956.

She was a member of the Rosary Society of Our Lady and St. Anne.

Ruth is survived by her husband Edward, daughter Maria Lockard and her husband Patrick, son Edward N. and one sister Shirley Leckner. She was the beloved grandmother of Sarah Mould and her husband Peter, John Lockard (Camila Rocha), Patrick Lockard (Luisa Colorado), Daniel Lockard (Jess Jutkiewicz) and Kayla McAlinden and her husband Shane. She was the great-grandmother of Connor and Liam Lockard and Landon and Ian Mould.

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