Anthony Joseph Ferlazzo

Anthony Joseph Ferlazzo

 Beloved Father, Grandfather and Uncle, 92

Mr. Anthony Joseph Ferlazzo, 92, of Clifton, NJ, passed away on Sunday, January 13, 2019.  There will be a funeral service celebrated at the Biondi Funeral Home of Nutley, 540 Franklin Avenue on Saturday, January 19 at 10:30 a.m.  The interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington with military honors.  Visitation will be on Friday, January 18 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 Tony was born in Italy on February 25, 1926, on the small Island of Lipari, off of Sicily.  In 1930, he and his mother emigrated to NY to join his father who had already been working there. He grew up in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from Brooklyn Tech High School where he became interested in engineering.  At age 17, he enlisted in the army and was stationed and actively fought in Germany and France during World War II as part of the 100th Infantry division #13.  He always said it was luck that kept the bullets from missing him.  As a first lieutenant, he was commander of a prison camp in Germany after the war ended at age 19.  He was given a bronze star for his service.  After the war he attended college on the GI bill, and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He married Theresa Russo in 1950.   Shortly after, he was called back to the army reserves during the Korean War where he served time in Okinawa. After returning home in 1952, they moved to Nutley, NJ where they raised four children.  During that time, he obtained a master’s degree in engineering at NJIT.  Tony was an avid golfer playing well into his 80's. He was active in the Nutley UNICO as a past president.

"Tony" was a good father who made it a priority to spend time with his children on weekends taking them to museums, parks, lakes, the “Jersey Shore”, and always to see their grandparents. He also found time to travel, beginning during the war in western Europe and later touring and visiting family in Italy and Australia.

He worked hard in his career and was proud of the work he did in the aviation industry, especially his work on the space program.  He also worked for many years in the healthcare industry ending with his job at Datascope.  His hobby was to tinker and fix things and spent hours in his garage workshop. If it was broken, he could fix.  If there was a problem, he had a solution.

Tony married Anna Kutcher after the death of his first wife, and together they bought a travel agency and enjoyed working and travelling together.  He helped raise his stepdaughter and her 3 sons. and had a very close relationship with all of them.  They owned a timeshare in Orlando for many years, where they often spent Thanksgiving week with the family.

Tony took care of many family members in his lifetime and lastly as a widower, he took care of himself insisting on independence up until he became ill in October. 

He was predeceased by his parents Giovanni and Giuseppina, his brother Joseph, his son John Daniel, his first wife Terry and his second wife Anna Kutcher.

He leaves behind his daughter Joan Ferlazzo and her husband Stuart Weiner, his daughter Anne Ferlazzo, his daughter Helen Ferlazzo and her wife Pat McBride, his stepdaughter Beverleeann Maninna and her husband Giuseppe Maninna, and his Grandchildren Dana, Nicholas, Thomas, Salvatore and Marcello. He is also survived by his loving sister-in law Marie Ferlazzo, several loving nieces and nephews and grand nieces and grand nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to a veteran’s organization of your choosing, or the NJ Commission for the Blind, 153 Halsey Street, #6, Newark, NJ 07102

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