Carmen A. Orechio

SENATOR CARMEN A. ORECHIO

A Life of Service and Accomplishment, 91

     Senator Carmen A. Orechio, 91, passed away peacefully on February 26, 2018 at his home in Nutley, NJ, the same town he was born in 1926.  The funeral will be conducted from Biondi Funeral Home of Nutley, 540 Franklin Avenue on Friday March 2, at 8:30 am.  There will be a funeral mass celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, Nutley at 10 am. The entombment will be at Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington.  Visitation will be on Thursday, March 1 from 3-8 pm.  

      With a distinguished career that has spanned decades, Senator Orechio’s dedication to public service was indisputable.  Presently Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, he also served as a member of the Nutley Board of Commissioners for 40 years serving as Mayor three times. During his tenure as Commissioner in the Township, Orechio oversaw the Department of Public Safety for 25 years.  He created the still present Senior Citizen Bus program.

       In 1973, Orechio was elected to the New Jersey Senate, served as Senate Majority Leader and was elected Senate President, where he served as Acting Governor whenever the Governor was absent. While a Senator, he was on the Law and Public Safety Committee as well as the Municipal Laws Committee.  He retired from the New Jersey State Senate in 1992. During this time period Orechio was responsible for introducing and implementing the “Pooper Scooper” legislation on a Municipal level which was then signed into state law. This law was the beginning of the movement that addressed this environmental concern for towns across the country. In addition to his State and municipal political involvement, Orechio was Democratic Chairman for Nutley and served as delegate to the NJ State Democratic Committee.

      Orechio was also a former Board of Trustee member of the Clara Maass Hospital Foundation and the Garden State Cancer Center and sat on many committees including the Nutley Hall of Fame which he founded, the Mattia Committee, Nutley Rotary, Nutley UNICO, The John V. Kelly Memorial Foundation and the Nutley Old Guard among others. He created and saw through the development of the SYA-Special Young Adults program that still serves the needs of our special adult community. He was instrumental in procuring funding for many municipal projects most notably for a much needed Senior Citizen home in 2002 called Nutley Senior Manor.

      On a personal level, Orechio was an avid softball player and Yankee fan.  For a short period, he was in business with Yankee great, Elston Howard, who became a close friend. For years, Yankee game outings were a favorite of Orechio’s and he often invited his friends to join him on an excursion to the Bronx to see his team. Orechio was quick to offer a helpful hand when needed and quietly helped hundreds of people throughout the years with whatever their need may have been.  Orechio graduated from Nutley High School and Rutgers University and served in the U.S. Army with the European Occupational Forces during World War II.   As a successful businessman, he operated travel agencies for 30 years.  

      Orechio is survived by his nieces Rosemarie Ciccone and her husband Bruce, Kathie Mirucki, and nephew Patrick Mirucki and his wife Randi. He is also survived by his great nieces and nephews: Bruce M. Ciccone, Cheryl Hewa, Ellen Wolf, Carl Ciccone and Robert D’Alessandro. Senator Orechio was predeceased by his parents Pasquale and Rosaria (nee Cocchiola) Orechio and his brothers Carl and Frank Orechio and his sister Maria Mirucki. 

      In lieu of flowers donations in his honor can be made to the Nutley Volunteer Emergency and Rescue Squad, PO Box 172, Nutley, NJ 07110 would be welcome.

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