Obituaries
Gloria G. Broant
Gloria G. Broant (nee Spinello), of Pompton Plains, formerly of Kearny, died at home Saturday, Dec. 10.
Born in Harrison, Gloria was one of six children born to Ernesto and Gaetano Spinello. She graduated from St. Cecelia’s High School, Kearny.
In Kearny, she was a ward leader and went on to become a Hudson County committee member for the Republican Party. She was also a member of the Town of Kearny’s Beautification Committee.
Gloria was a successful real estate agent and as a young woman, she started her career as a bookkeeper for Worthington Pump in Harrison.
She was an avid horse-racing aficionado and owned several race horses with her brother Ernest Spinello under Glory B. Stables. As a lover of the shore, she had many wonderful memories of her family in her shore home and on her boat the “Glory B.”
She enjoyed traveling, especially to Europe and Cuba. She was wooed by many and engaged three times until she met the love of her life, Vincent Broant.
Gloria is survived by her sister Ermaline DeGonge, her stepdaughter Barbara Broant, 10 nieces and nephews and many great- and great-great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Vincent, her siblings Marie McHugh, Federico, Gerald and Ernest Spinello and nephew Ernest Spinello Jr.
Gloria was very dedicated to her family and was viewed as a second mother, grandmother and godmother to her nieces and nephews and to her great- and great-great nieces and nephews. She will be remembered as a wonderful, loving, young at heart, full of life, vivacious woman.
Visiting was Thursday, Dec. 15, at the M. John Scanlan Funeral Home, Pompton Plains. A funeral Mass was celebrated Friday, Dec. 16, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Pompton Plains. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Maria Arillotta
Maria Arillotta (nee Liotta), 85, of Kearny, died Saturday, Nov. 26.
The beloved wife of Robert DeLise, she was the loving mother of the late Albert Arillotta, dear sister of Luci Italiano, Anna Di Adetta and the late Concetta Munofo and the cherished grandmother of three grandchildren.
Friends were received Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Home, Lyndhurst, with a crypt-side service following in Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington.
Send condolences to www.stellatofuneralhomes.com.
Mary J. Millea
Mary J. Millea, (nee Ryan) formerly of Harrison, died Monday, Dec. 12, at Crane’s Mill Assisted Living, West Caldwell.
She was 87.
Funeral services were under the directions of the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Ave., Harrison. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, Harrison. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
To send condolences to her family, visit www.mulliganfh.com.
Born in Detroit, she resided in Milwaukee for 22 years before moving to California for three years and then to Harrison for 49 years – before moving to West Caldwell where she lived for the last 13 years.
Prior to her retirement in 1996, she worked for R.B. Millea, Inc., Newark, as an executive officer for 16 years. She graduated in 1951 from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Milwaukee, with a nursing degree. She was a communicant of Holy Cross Church, Harrison, and a member of the Rosary, Vincentian and Senior Citizen societies.
She was a past officer of the Parents Auxiliary of East Orange Catholic, and Mount St. Dominic Academy. She was a current member and past president of the Seton Hall Prep Mothers’ Auxiliary, and was the recipient of the Mother Seton Award.
Mary was predeceased by her husband, Robert J., in 1991, and her son Raymond, in 2007. She is survived by her two sons, Robert (Patricia), of Kearny, and Thomas (Karen), of Doraville, Ga.; two daughters, Kathleen Grinder (Joseph), of Manhattan, and Mary Pat Shields (Ronald), of Kearny; her sister Loretta Levinson; nine grandchildren; and her daughter-in-law, Deborah.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Harrison Lions Club, P.O. Box 212, Harrison, N.J. 07029, attn: Louis Lambe, president, in loving memory of Mary.
Ruth R. Massett
Ruth R. Massett died at home Dec. 15.
She was 60.
Born in Newark, she was a lifelong Kearny resident.
Visiting was Friday, Dec. 16, at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated Saturday, Dec. 17, at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Ruth was a cashier at Midtown Pharmacy in Kearny.
She is the daughter of Mary Ann (nee Kramer) and the late Robert Bryant.
The wife of Charles Massett, she is also survived by her children Erin Massett, Marybeth Riley, Kevin Massett, Elizabeth Grochowski, Bridget Riley and Margaret and Grace Massett along with her grandchildren James III, Charles, Ian, Joshua and “one on the way.”
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Dolores G. McNamara
Dolores G. McNamara, of Nutley, formerly of Harrison, died surrounded by her loving family at Mountainside Hospital, Montclair, on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
She was 85.
Funeral services were under the direction of the Mulligan Funeral Home, Harrison. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, Harrison. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
To send condolences to Dolores’ family, visit www.mulliganfh.com.
Born and raised in Harrison, she lived there until 1985 before moving to Daytona Beach, Fla. She moved back to New Jersey and lived in Nutley for the last 17 years. She was the proud proprietor of McNamara’s Pub, Harrison, for many years.
Dolores is survived by her loving children, Maureen Devore Rosa and her husband, Manuel, Kathleen Devore and James P. Devore (Maryann Jennings), cherished grandchildren Manny and Michelle Rosa, Shawn and Derik Rosa and Brianna, Dana and Victoria Devore, dear great-grandchildren, Keira, Cameron and Kendall. She is also survived my many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her son Richard (1987) and her siblings, Joseph “Sonny” McNamara and Eleanor Penn.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105-1942, in loving memory of Dolores.
John C. Cruz
John C. Cruz of Harrison died surrounded by his loving family Tuesday, Dec. 13.
He was 93.
Funeral services were under the direction of Mulligan Funeral Home, Harrison. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, Harrison. Entombment was in Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington.
To send condolences to his family, visit www.mulliganfh.com.
Born and raised in Ribiero, Murtosa, Portugal, John moved to the Ironbound section of Newark when he was 17. He moved to Harrison in 1949. He voluntarily entered the U.S. Army and served his country during World War II. He was a combat engineer, serving in the 61st Combat Battalion.
In 1947, John married the love of his life, Anna Reis.
He was a member of the Bricklayers and Craftworkers Union No. 4, employed as a cement finisher. He continued to work as a cement finisher and carpenter well into his 80s.
He was a member of the Sport Maritimo, Newark, and was also a parishioner at Holy Cross Church, Harrison.
John is survived by his loving wife, Anna Cruz (nee Reis – they were married 69 years); his devoted children John, Anna and Joseph Cruz, Linda Barone (Thomas Valente), Tony Cruz and his wife Antoinette and Marilyn Cruz (Andrew Cicalese); 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was predeceased by his granddaughter Katherine Cruz (1997) and son-in-law Joseph Cepiel (1988).
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, Tenn. 38105-9908 or the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 417005 Boston, Mass. 02241-7005 in loving memory of John.
