Ethel Luz Durand
Ethel Luz Durand, 76, of Kearny, died Jan. 28.
A funeral service was held at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny, on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Cremation was private.
Born in Lima, Peru, Ethel lived in Kearny since 1986.
She was the beloved wife of Mauricio Durand, loving mother of Gabriela Durand and sister of Gloria, Gaston, Franz and Grace.
Walter J. Major
Walter J. Major died Feb. 7.
He was 91.
Born in Jersey City, he lived in Kearny since 1960.
Visiting was Monday, Feb. 13, at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Entombment was in Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum, North Arlington.
Mr. Major was a World War II Navy veteran. He held a B.A. and was a retired sales office manager from Kestor Solder in Newark.
Walter is survived by his beloved wife Bette (nee Schmidt) and his devoted daughter Leigh E. Major.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to St Jude Children’s Hospital.
Isabell Reilly
Isabell Reilly (nee Seeley), 76, died Feb. 4 at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Pomona.
Relatives and friends visited the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, Kearny. The funeral service was from the funeral home. Interment was in Hollywood Memorial Park, Union.
Condolences and memories may be shared at thiele-reid.com.
Isabell was born in Newark. She lived in Kearny then Belleville, before moving to Whiting in 2012.
She was employed as a custodian at N.J.I.T. in Newark for 25 years, retiring eight years ago.
Mrs. Reilly is survived by her siblings, Lena Vasquez, Geraldine Roselli, Patricia Smeltzer, Arlene Seeley, Rita Gray, Diane Brady and Bruce and Harry Seeley. She also leaves behind her goddaughter, Jennifer Romalin, and many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Edward Reilly, and her brother, Edward Seeley.
Gustavo Velez
Gustavo Velez, 95, of Kearny, died Feb. 6.
Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Cecilia’s Church, Kearny. Entombment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Born in Cuba, Mr. Velez came to the United States in 1962 and lived in Newark before moving to Kearny.
Mr. Velez was employed with Texaco in Cuba and continued to work at Texaco in Newark when he came to America. He also was the founder and owner of Marvel, a company that installed window treatments, located in Kearny for 20 years.
He was a member of the Lions Club in Elizabeth.
He was the beloved husband of Maria Martinez Velez, the father of Maroa Velez Vurno (Tom) and Gus Velez (Cynthia), the brother of Marta Velez, Miriam Rodriguez and Gilma Suarez and the grandfather of Thomas and Charles.
Arthur B. Whaley
Arthur B. “Mickey” Whaley died suddenly Feb. 6.
He was 68.
Born and raised in Jersey City, he lived in Kearny before moving to North Arlington.
Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Cremation was private.
Mickey is survived by his wife, Yvonne L. (nee Turcotte); his children, Michael Whaley, Tammy Munro (Gary) and Dwayne Whaley (Evelyn); eight siblings; and his grandchildren, Drew, Danielle, Tyler, Aryssa and Rachel.
Mickey served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and retired from Worldwide Freight in Linden.
To leave online condolence, visit www.armitagewiggins.com.
