Loretta A Hutcheson
Loretta Hutcheson (nee Calabrese) died at home on Feb. 2, 2024.
She was 82.
Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church in Kearny. Burial was in Arlington Cemetery, also in Kearny.
Loretta was born in Newark and she graduated from Barringer High School in 1959. She always enjoyed luncheons with her school girlfriends. Loretta was a supervisor at New Jersey Bell. After retirement, she worked as a student aide for the Kearny Board of Education. She enjoyed her involvement with the Woman’s Bible Group at the Kearny Bible Chapel.
Beloved wife of Bill Hutcheson, she was the loving mother of Roseann and Leslie Hutcheson. Sister of the late Vito Calabrese, she is also survived by her granddaughter Noelle. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
James E. Byrnes
James E. Byrnes, 87, died Jan. 27, 2024.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Jimmy and his loving wife, Jean Anne (Lannon), celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in October.
Along with his wife, he is survived by his children, daughter Jean McDermott and her husband Jerry, son James and his wife Debbie, son Terence and his wife Louise, daughter Mary Beth Stehle and her husband Michael. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren, Erin, Shea, Kelly, Michael, Jimmy, Raegan, Bridget, Catherine, Terence and Meghan whom he adored, and they adored him. He leaves behind his sister Peggy Anne Overton, and his brother Jack Byrnes and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers William and Donald.
As a Battalion Chief with the Jersey City Fire Department, he retired in 2001 after 36 years of service. He served in the United States Army, 10th Mountain Division, and also served as a commissioner on the Hudson County Approvement Authority. He was an avid golfer and was able to enjoy golfing not only with his sons, but also his grandsons and rarely ever missed a sporting event for any of his children or grandchildren.
His family and his career with the Jersey City Fire Department brought him extraordinary joy and contentment. He was known fondly as “Chief” to many friends and family.
A memorial visitation is planned for Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, at O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Highway 35 at New Belford Road, Wall, from noon to 4 p.m. For more information or to send condolences please visit www.obrienfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Shriners Children’s Hospital.
Ida C. Fearon
Ida C. Fearon (nee Butler) died Jan. 28, 2024.
She was 78.
Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, also in Kearny.
Ida was an employee at West Hudson Hospital in Kearny. After retirement, she enjoyed her work as a lunch aide for the North Arlington Public School system. Ida had a true love for the great outdoors.
She was the loving wife of the late Harry Fearon and beloved mother of; Cheryl Parillo (her husband Anthony), Harry Fearon (his wife Lois), Michele Ceraso (her late husband Jerry), Keith Fearon (his wife Mary), Kimberly Mc Girr (her husband Danny) and Pamela Jones (her husband Lee). She was the sister of the late Kay Foley. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren, Anthony, Melissa, Sarah, Alison, Jeremy, Briana, William, Ryan, Joseph, Jared and Morgan. She is also survived by her great grandchildren, Olivia and Hudson along with many loving nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation in her memory to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org) or the ASPCA (aspca.org).
Learn more about the writer ...
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.