Obituaries for Jan. 25, 2023

Genevieve DeMetro

Genevieve DeMetro (nee Kozdron) of Kearny died at home with loving family on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023.

She was 93.

The funeral will be conducted from the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Ave., Harrison, on Friday, Jan. 27, at 10 a.m.  A funeral Mass will follow at 11 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Her entombment will take place in Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington.

Friends may visit Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.

If you would like to send a condolence to her family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com.

Born in Harrison, Genevieve moved to Kearny in 1953. She worked as a postal clerk at the Kearny Post Office for many years, retiring in 1989. Being a woman of strong Catholic faith, Genevieve was involved with many of our local churches, namely:  She was a member of the Holy Cross Church choir, Harrison, and a member of the local chapter of the Polish Women’s Alliance at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Harrison. She was also a parishioner of St. Stephen’s Church.

Throughout her life, Genevieve enjoyed traveling the world with her husband.

Predeceased by her husband John F. DeMetro Jr. (2017), Genevieve is survived by her loving children, John DeMetro, Gregory DeMetro (Linda) and Christine Kondreck (Karl), cherished grandchildren, Kimberly Sliker (Scott), Lauren DeMetro-Dalias (Kevin), Mathew Kondreck and Mark DeMetro (Teresa) and dear great-grandchildren, Matthew Jr., Ava and Chase. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association Attn: Donor Services, 225 North Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601, in loving memory of Genevieve.

Richard Kennel

Richard Kennel of Harrison died at home on Friday, January 13, 2023. He was 82 years old.

Private funeral services are under the direction of Mulligan Funeral Home, Harrison.

Born in New York, New York, he lived in Flushing, Queens, before settling in Harrison in 1978. Rich worked as a limousine driver for Wolf Barney Livery in Kearny for many years. Prior to that, he worked as a taxi driver in Manhattan, and he was a member of the Taxi Cab Union.

He served his country in the Navy Airforce during the Vietnam War and his highest achieved rank was Squadrons duty officer.

Richard earned a B.S. degree in architecture & science from New York University, New York.

Richard was an innovator and inventor. In his lifetime he was able to obtain a few patents.

Predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Mary Ann Kennel (nee O’Grady),  Richard is survived by his nieces and nephews, William Heutele, Joan (Raul) Sloezen, Rosemary Kaufman, Patricia (Jose) Maderro and Michael O’Grady, James Kennel, Suzanne Nobile

If you would like to send a condolence message to his family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com.

Leonardo Balboa

Leonardo Balboa died Jan. 19, 2023.

He was 81.

Born in Spain, he lived in Newark before moving to Kearny in 1982

Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.

Leonardo was the husband of the late Celia (nee Treinta) and beloved father of Leonardo Balboa (his wife Tanya) and Maria Balboa. Brother of Leonor Balboa, Consuelo Balboa and the late Miguel, Manuel and Teodoro Balboa, he is also survived by his grandson Daniel.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Pauline E. Roman

Pauline E. Roman (nee Videyko), affectionately known as Polly, died peacefully at her home in East Newark on Jan. 20, 2023.

She was 96.

At her request, the arrangements are private and being handled through the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home in Kearny.

Pauline was the wife of the late Walter Roman and was the beloved mother of Walter Roman, Paul Roman (Lisa) and Mark Roman (Virginia). She is also survived by her loving grandchildren Paul, Caitlin, Alexandra and Brielle.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to Christ Community Church, 136 Wykoff Ave., Waldwick, N.J. 07463 in her memory.

 

 

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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.