Eugene G. Mead
Eugene G. Mead, 80, of Kearny, died Sept. 8, 2022.
Visitation for Eugene was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church in Kearny on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 10 a.m. Cremation will be private.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Eugene lived in Bayonne for many years until moving to Kearny nine years ago. He worked as a typesetter for The Jersey Journal for 25 years and later worked for PDR in Manhattan, also as a typesetter. Eugene was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed following his favorite teams — Notre Dame, Alabama and the New York Giants.
Eugene was the beloved husband of the late Patricia Mead; loving father of Sean Mead and his wife Lisa, Deirdre DePalma and her husband Michael and Gene G. Mead and his wife Jennifer; cherished grandfather of Jessica, Sean, Michael, Caitlin, Ryan and Dominic; and dear brother of Harold Mead.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Helene Dickinson
Helene Dickinson (nee Finnell) died Sept. 1, 2022.
She was 86.
Born in Jersey City, she moved to Kearny 20 years ago.
Visiting was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Helene was a bright, ambitious person, a lady truly ahead of her time in the investment world. She excelled in her career at J.P. Morgan in New York City, where she held a commanding position in Manager Stock Holder Relations. She was a very generous person, giving to many charities, especially St. Peters Prep, St. Dominic Academy and St. Stephen’s Church.
Wife of the late Joseph, she was the loving mother of Joseph L. Dickinson, Deirdre Sullivan and the late Patrick Dickinson. Sister of Lawrence Finnell and the late Laurene Brolewicz and Kathleen Scherer, she is also survived by her grandchildren Erin, Dermot, Conor, Joanna and Patrick.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to St. Stephen’s Church.
Joan Klepacki
Joan Klepacki (nee LaBrode) died peacefully Saturday afternoon, Sept. 10, at Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville.
She was 82.
Born in Jersey City at the Margaret Hague Hospital, she was a lifelong and active resident of Kearny ever since. She was the former chairwoman of the Women’s Club of Arlington EMD and current member of Arlington Women’s Club and Senior Citizens Club of Kearny.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Joan was a judge for local, state and federal elections at the polls and spent years supporting and working on fundraisers for the Presbyterian Boys and Girls Club. She worked part-time for the Town of Kearny as a secretary to Planning Board meetings, then at the Brennan Company for many years before working for the Town of Kearny in the Construction Code Department. Later she worked at the Fire Department before retiring.
Many called her “Joanie.” She was friendly and outgoing and conversant on many topics. She enjoyed writing poetry and crocheting (and entering competitions), traveling around the world, having dinner and a Broadway show, shopping and taking bus trips to casinos with the girls.
If you ever received a card from Joanie, it most likely came in the form of a funny but relevant poem. Most everyone loved her brownies. She loved sitting on a porch and enjoyed the beach and boardwalk every summer. She also playfully delighted in sharing a birth date with Elvis, who she adored.
Wife of the late Henry Klepacki, she was the loving mother of Jeffrey (daughter-in-law Melissa), Kathryn, and Brian (daughter-in-law Lyndsy). Sister of Marion Yotcoski and the late Lois Kramer, she was the proud and boastful grandmother (they called her Grammy) of Henry, Autumn, Teddy and Elly. Aunt to several nieces and nephews and many cousins, Joanie will be deeply missed by her family and many friends.
Visiting will be at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny, this week. Please check their website for day and time of service at www.armitagewiggins.com.
In lieu of flowers, kindly consider donating to one of your favorite charities.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.