Nellie Dames
Nellie Dames (nee Dzekevich), 92, passed away on Dec. 25.
The funeral will be from the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny, on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 8:30 a.m. A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny, at 9:30 a.m. Interment will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Mrs. Dames was born in Providence, R.I., and lived in Kearny for the last 68 years.
She graduated from Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing in 1942 as a registered nurse.
Nellie served in the Navy as a registered nurse at the Naval Air Training Base in Jacksonville, Fla., during World War II. She later worked for 30 years as the evening supervisor at the former West Hudson Hospital in Kearny before retiring in 1985.
She is survived by her children, Suzanne Gibbs, Dr. Nancy Sweet, Maryann Mezan, Ralph Dames and Thomas Dames, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Nellie was predeceased by her husband, Ralph Dames, her daughter, Annella Dames, and her brother, Joseph Dzekevich.
Louis P. Saporito
Louis P. Saporito, former chief of police of Harrison, died Saturday at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank at age 92.
He was born and raised in Harrison, where he resided for 65 years. His was a lifetime of service—to his country, to his community, and above all, to his cherished family.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Theresa, and four children: Jacque Piatkowski, of Carolina Beach NC and her husband, Stan; Bill Saporito, of Manhattan and his wife, Laurie; Francene Kanter, of Marblehead, Mass. and her husband, Todd; and Jane Green of Florham Park and her husband, Tim. He is also survived by 10 adoring grandchildren—Marc (Susan), Douglas (Shelley), and Elise Piatkowski; Garrett, Justin, Eric, and Danielle Kanter; Mitchell, Terri, and Tim Green; and four great-grandchildren— Mia and Maximo Piatkowski and Siena Grace and Barrett Piatkowski—as well as his wonderfully caring sister-in- law Kathleen Confroy, sister-in-law Pat and brother- in-law Joe Mango and family, and Maryann and Andy Boothroyd and family, who loved “Uncle Lou.” His brothers, Carmen and Max, and sister in law Elsa, predeceased him.
Chief Saporito was born Sept. 13, 1922, on Franklin Ave. in Harrison, the son of Mary and Joseph Saporito. For most of his life, he never lived far from the block where he was born. After moving to Tinton Falls in his retirement years, he would often talk about how great it was to have been raised in the town of Harrison. He was a small-town man through and through.
Like so many men of the Greatest Generation, he left home to serve his country. During World War II, he became a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, ultimately being trained as a flight officer of a B-29 bomber—the most complicated job on the ship, he would point out.
After the war, he returned home to Harrison to help take care of his mother. He joined the Harrison Police Department in 1947 rising first to sergeant, then to detective and deputy chief, and finally to chief of police. He retired from the force in 1987.
The funeral will be conducted from the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Avenue, Harrison, on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 9:15 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass at Holy Cross Church, at 10 a.m. Friends may call Tuesday starting at 8:45 a.m. His interment will take place in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington. For information, directions or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice in loving memory of Louis.
Mia K. Schoeberle
Mia K. Schoeberle of Kearny died on Christmas Day in St. Barnabas Medical Center. She was 54.
Relatives and friends may call at the Condon Funeral Home, 684 Kearny Ave., Kearny, on Tuesday, Dec. 30, from 9 to 10 a.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Cremation will follow at Rosedale Crematory in Orange.
Ms. Schoeberle had been a science teacher in Kearny High School for 25 years. Prior to that, she was employed in the same capacity for the New York City Board of Education.
She is survived by Joe Cravo and their sons, Paul, Brian and John Cravo. Also surviving is her mother, Celia Orr Schoeberle and her sister, Marsan Stromberg. In lieu of flowers it was Mia’s wish that donations may be made to the Salvation Army, 443 Chestnut St., Kearny, N.J. 07032 in her memory.
Thomas William Sheppard
Thomas William Sheppard, of East Newark, died suddenly on Tuesday, Dec. 23. He was 33.
Funeral services were under the direction of Mulligan Funeral Home, Harrison. For information or to send online condolences to the family, please go to www.mulliganfh.com.
Born in Newark, Tom was a lifelong resident of Harrison and East Newark. He worked as a warehouseman for Fedway, South Kearny.
What Tom loved most in life was spending time with the apple of his eye, his daughter, Madison. He was an avid sports fan, with his favorite teams being the N.Y. Mets and N.Y. Giants.
Tom is survived his beloved daughter, Madison Sheppard, cherished sister, Melissa Sheppard, and his loving mother, Kathleen Bell. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and many loving friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the family, in order to defray the costs of the funeral in care of Mulligan Funeral Home, in loving memory of Tom.
Carol I. Stec
Mrs. Carol I. Stec, of Kearny, died on Dec. 26 in the Canterbury Care Center. She was 63.
Arrangements were by the Condon Funeral Home, 684 Kearny Ave., Kearny. The funeral service was held at Grace Episcopal Church, 200 Highfield Lane, Nutley, followed by a private cremation.
Carol had been the parish administrator of Trinity Episcopal Church in Kearny for 10 years before retiring last year. She served the parish for over 36 years.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Stec and her daughters, Eve-lyn Nixon and Liana Witthoeft and her husband Ian. Also surviving is her mother, Doris Nixon and a sister, Linda Nixon.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider donations to Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, Va. 22116-7058 in Carol’s memory.
