Helen Wilson
Helen Wilson, 88, of Whiting, died Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Helen was born in Kearny on April 1, 1937, to her late parents, James and Jane (nee Hogan) DeSonne.
Helen moved to Whiting 10 years ago from Florida. Helen worked as a registered nurse for West Hudson Hospital in Kearny for 35 years. After her retirement, she would go on to volunteering at a cat shelter in Florida. She enjoyed gardening and having a collection of house plants, as well as walking on the beach and collecting shells and sharks’ teeth. Helen was an avid reader who would read whatever she could get her hands on.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband Warren “Pete” Wilson in 2012, her brother Edward DeSonne and her sister Mary.
Surviving Helen are her sons Robert Wilson and his wife Julie and James Wilson and her two beloved grandchildren Patrick and Kimberly Wilson.
Family and friends are invited to gather Monday, July 7, 2025, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Carmona-Bolen Home for Funerals, 66 Lacey Road, Manchester Township, New Jersey. Burial will be private. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family by visiting www.carmonabolenfh.com.
Mark Laytos
Mark Laytos died June 15, 2025.
He was 65.
His funeral Mass took place on his birthday — July 1, 2025 — at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Kearny. Arrangements were by the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. His cremation was private.
Mark was an I.T. inspector for Capital One in Bayonne. He loved hockey, especially the New Jerse Devils. He enjoyed his hobby as a ham radio operator. His ashes were placed into a special urn that looks like the Stanley Cup.
He was the husband of the late Kathy (nee Pratko) and son of the late Richard and Lorrayne (nee Kulik) Laytos. He is survived by his brother Michael Laytos and his wife Lucia, his nieces Juliana and Sophie and his loving great-aunt Irene Potts.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to the American Cancer Society.
Thomas J. Mitchell
Thomas J. Mitchell died July 2, 2025.
He was 94.
Born in Kearny to the late John and Rosalie Mitchell, Thomas — affectionately known as “Red” — was raised with strong values of service, family, and hard work. After graduating high school, he proudly enlisted in the United States Army, serving in France and Germany during the Korean Conflict.
After meeting the love of his life, Margaret Hasselwander, Tom left the Army and the two were married in October of 1956. They lived in Kearny before moving to Lake Hiawatha in 1964, where they raised their family and lived for 60 years.
Tom was a hard worker and a devoted family man. He worked for over twenty years at the Wilbur B. Driver Foundry Company in Newark, rising to the position of foreman. After that, he worked many years at Transistor Devices in Cedar Knolls before retiring at age 70.
A man of strength and faith, Red was an active parishioner of St. Peter the Apostle R.C. Church in Parsippany. He was among the oldest living members of the American Legion, Lake Hiawatha Post 249 where he enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow veterans. His favorite vacation spot was Cape May where he enjoyed yearly vacations with his wife, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Thomas was predeceased by his beloved wife, Margaret, and his siblings John Mitchell and Rose Niedzinski. He loved his four children, Rose Barreto (Anthony), Nancy Clark (Greg), Colleen Kloss (Phil) and Thomas Mitchell (Karen); nine grandchildren Christine Dimovski, Heather Biringer, Kim Myers, Brian Mitchell, Chelsea Barreto, Kaitlin Mitchell, Kevin Mitchell, Joseph Kloss, and Julia Kloss; and three great grandchildren Tucker, Daphne, and Reagan. He leaves behind his dear sister, Marie Lynch, his brother-in-law, John Hasselwander (Edna), and many cherished relatives and friends.
Visiting hours will be held at the S.J. Priola Parsippany Funeral Service, 60 North Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ, on Sunday, July 6th, from 2–4 PM and 7–9 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, July 7th at 1:30 PM at St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany. Interment to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory may be made to the good work of the Alliance for Lupus Research.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served 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 social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, 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 Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.