Joao Caetano
Joao Caetano passed away on June 29. He was 67. Arrangements are by the Armitage and Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Dr., Kearny. A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, July 2, at 10 a.m. in Holy Cross Church, Harrison, and burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Joao is survived by his wife Maria (da Conceicao) and his children Arlete Campos (Adrian) and John Caetano (Jessica). He also leaves his sisters Maria Arlete Almeida and Maria Celeste Portijo and three grandchildren.
Alfredo De Brito V. Galvao
Alfredo De Brito V. Galvao died June 26. He was 95. Born in Gondoriz Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal, he moved to the U.S. in 1966, first settling in Newark and then moving to Kearny 36 years ago.
Arrangements were by the Armitage and Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Dr., Kearny. A funeral Mass was held in St. Cecilia’s Church, Kearny, followed by entombment at Holy Cross Cemetery. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.armitagewiggins.com
Mr. Galvao is survived by his wife Maria (Barreiro) and his daughters and their husbands Emilia and Tomas Veloso, Rosa and Armando Martins, Alice Esteves, Ines and Jaime Da Cunha, Esmeralda and Jose Rebimbas and Maria and Americo Nobre. He also has a brother Antonio, 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
If you would like to make a memorial donation the family asks that you consider Parkinson Research.
Elizabeth A. Griffin
Elizabeth A. Griffin, 94, passed on June 18.
Mrs. Griffin was predeceased by her husband of 59 years, John.
Survivors are her sons and daughters-in-law John and Joyce of Fairfield and Mel and Susan of Kearny, daughters: Barbara Griffin of Florida, Patricia Klimek of Kearny, Marie Faulkner of Jackson, a sister Ruby of Tennessee, 11 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren many nephews, nieces and friends.
She was loved and will be missed by many.
William R. Hartman Sr.
WW II Army Veteran
William R. Hartman Sr., age 93, of Harrison, formerly of Lakeville, Pa., entered into eternal rest at home on Friday, June 28.
A funeral service will be held at the Mulligan Funeral Home, on Tuesday, July 2, at 11 a.m. Friends may call Tuesday morning after 10 a.m. William’s interment will follow at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown. For information, directions or to send condolences to the family, please visit mulliganfuneralhome.org.
Born in Scranton, Pa, he lived most of his life in Harrison. William was a WWII Army veteran. While fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, William sustained serious shrapnel wounds and earned a Purple Heart. However, it was his G.I.-issued Bible that William always remembered. At the time he was injured, the Bible he carried in his breast pocket was struck by a bullet that penetrated the entire text (including all the family photos William carried with him) before stopping at the last page, just above his heart. His family remains eternally grateful for the Bible that allowed him to return home safely.
He was the commander and a lifetime member of the Sgt. William Sawelson VFW Post #340, Harrison, for over 50 years and Past District #3 VFW Commander. William was also a lifetime member of the D.A.V. Post #22 in Belleville, and of the Railsplitters of Missouri. He was a member of the American Legion Post # 282, Harrison. William worked as a truck driver for 37 years at Merit Distribution Center in Kearny, until his retirement in 1987. Predeceased by his wife Lorena (nee Mitchell) in 2008, he is survived by his loving children, Joan Ostrowski, Joyce Patterson, Robert, William Jr; and Carol Liotti, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Charles Hartman.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests contributions in loving memory of William.
Valarie Ann Fullone Hodnett
Valarie Ann Fullone Hodnett, 55, died Wednesday, June 26, at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City.
Born in Newark, she lived in North Arlington before moving to Kearny 30 years ago. “Val’s contagious smile lit up everyone’s life; her humorous personality will be missed by all her family and friends and her generous nature will be missed by all,” a family member said.
She was the beloved mother of Candace Hodnett and her husband Paul Isolano, Jody Lyn, Jessica and Kyla Hodnett, the devoted daughter of James and Mollie (nee D’Adamo) Fullone, the loving sister of James Fullone Jr., Philip Fullone, Carol Jean Giammetta and Susan Smedberg, the cherished aunt of Dennis, Marisa and Julia and the former wife of Patrick Hodnett.
The funeral was from the Parow Funeral Home, 185 Ridge Rd., North Arlington, on Saturday, June 29, with a funeral Mass in Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, North Arlington.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Angels of Animals, P.O. Box 534, Clifton, N.J. 07012.
Kathleen A. McKenna
Mrs. Kathleen A. McKenna (nee O’Neill), a lifelong Kearny resident, died on Sunday, June 30, in St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark. She was 60.
Kathy had been employed by Pomptonian Caterers for many years and had worked in West Hudson Hospital and Kearny High School as a dietary aide.
She was also a member and past president of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, nest #2214. She ran the yearly Christmas toy drive for the Eagles.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jack McKenna and her parents, Gerard and Agnes O’Neill. Kathy is survived by her daughter, Jeryl Lawless and Jeryl’s fiancé, Justin Allaire as well as her brother, Jay O’Neill.
Funeral services were held privately and entrusted to the Condon Funeral Home, Kearny.
