Samuel J. Souza
Samuel J. Souza died at home Aug. 30, 2023.
He was 63.
Born in Belleville, he was a true, blue Kearny kid. He also lived in Nutley and Brick before moving to Barnegat in 2016.
Private cremation was handled by Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny.
Sam was a construction code official for Montclair. He was an all-around good athlete and loved fishing.
Sam was fun to be around.
Beloved son of Charlotte (nee Baron) and the late Samuel Souza, he was the cherished husband of Michelle (nee Hirschman). He is also survived by his son Samuel Jr., (his wife Raquel), his step-children Sean McGrady and Allison Burns (her husband Greg), his brother and sister Christopher Souza (his wife Jane) and Karen Kennedy (her husband Patrick). Loving grandfather to Sean, Mia, Rory, Isla and Jada. He also leaves behind loving nieces and nephews and their families.
At Sam’s request, kindly consider a donation to the American Cancer Society in his memory to help cure this terrible disease.
Lois Mae Deegan
Lois Mae Deegan (Hoyle) of Harrison died peacefully with her daughters by her side on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
She was 83.
Funeral services were under the direction of Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Ave., Harrison.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mulliganfh.com.
She was born in Newark on July 31, 1940, and was the daughter of the late Sidney and Catherine (Gray) Hoyle. She was raised in Kearny before moving to Harrison in 1976.
Lois worked at Ed’s Corner Deli on Fourth Street in Harrison for many years. Prior to that, she worked as a bookkeeper. Upon retiring from the workforce, she became a devoted grandmother to her grandchildren and had the pleasure in helping to raise them.
Her favorite pastime was attending the annual Harrison Halloween Parade and waiting for the bagpipes to come marching by. She was also an avid Elvis Presley Fan.
Lois was the devoted mother to her loving daughters, Patty Egan (Phil), Lori Hinkle (Tom), Barbara Deegan and Alice Kelly (Larry), devoted grandmother to her cherished grandchildren, Shane Egan (Danielle), Cortni Deegan (Daniel Mackerley), Sean Hinkle, Ryan Egan (Jackie), Kaitlynn Long (Mike), Darin Hart, Miles Pastrof (Amanda Kirst), Matthew Deegan, Riley Kelly, Dana Morris (Ryan), Lauren Gardner (Mike), and dear great grandchildren, Kayla, Sydney, McKenna, Mikey, Harper, Charlie, Harper, Mila and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her beloved daughter, Catherine Hart (Deegan), her brother, William Hoyle and her cousin Lynn Pandorf (Gray)
Marion Myles Dunrovich
Marion Myles Dunrovich departed her loving family Sept. 6, 2023.
Marion was born in New York City on May 15, 1934, to Marion Connors of New York City and Owen Myles of Belfast, Ireland. Marion was one of six children, including Margaret, Owen, Kathleen, Patricia and Francis. Her family moved from New York City to Garrison, New York, and then at the age of 10, relocated to Harrison, to be near relatives from Ireland who had settled there. Once in Harrison, her father opened Owen’s Fish & Chip Shop.
Marion was left-handed so as a young girl, her father lovingly nicknamed her “Babe” after the famous lefty, Babe Ruth — a name she carried throughout her lifetime.
After Babe completed her education, she worked for Driver Harris and O’Connor’s Trucking. Looking for a change in career, Babe registered with the Grace Downs Modeling School in New York City. Upon completion of her modeling program, Marion was placed as a stewardess with Capitol Airlines (which later merged with United Airlines). She was stationed in Washington D.C., and then Ypsilanti, Michigan. While home on leave, she met the love of her life, John Patrick Dunrovich (Pat). They were married in 1958 and made a home and life for themselves and their four children in Kearny for the next 60 years.
After the airlines, Marion worked for Hartz Mountain and Roadway Express, and then spent the last 25+ years of her career at the Rosa Agency Real Estate office in Kearny, as the office manager and sales agent. She retired at the age of 82 and moved to Brick in 2018.
As for her favorite pastimes, Marion spent many weekends out on the ocean saltwater fishing with Pat and friends and taking cruise ship vacations. She was an avid reader, enjoying countless novels and solving jumbles and crossword puzzles. She was also a HUGE fan of the New York Yankees and her nightly TV game shows, namely “Jeopardy!” and the “Wheel.”
Marion was member of the VFW Post 1302 Women’s Auxiliary and was involved in many VFW committees and events throughout the years. It was her and Pat’s second home. There wasn’t a member who didn’t know and love Babe and Pat at the “V.”
Marion also greatly enjoyed cooking, baking and entertaining, and loved a good party. She and Pat were surrounded by their children, family members and hosts of friends at many memorable holiday and fun birthday gatherings, around the Dunrovich table. She was an amazing hostess and made some of the most incredible dishes, including her famous coleslaw, stuffing, mushrooms and delicious apple pie. After a great day at sea, she often made fish fries for the whole gang with their “catch of the day.” She was a lover of desserts and sweets, especially chocolate. But her greatest love and joy of all was being a mother.
Marion was sadly predeceased by three of her children, Susan, Jackie and Jimmy, her sister Margaret (Peggy) and her brothers Owen and Frank. She is survived by her husband John (Pat) of 65 years, daughter Marion and husband Greg, grandson Sean, sisters Kathleen Payne and Patricia McCourt and many loving nieces and nephews and their children.
Family and friends gathered at the Thiele-Reid Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, A church service is set for Wednesday, Sept. 13 at noon at St. Stephen’s Church in Kearny. A burial service will be in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington.
Giuseppina F. ‘Josephine’ DeLuca Grabowski
Giuseppina F. “Josephine” DeLuca Grabowski, 67, of Kearny, formerly of Newark, died peacefully Sept. 2, 2023.
Beloved mother of Kristin Grabowski, she was the loving sister of Antoniette Adao. Lovingly know as Aunt Josie to her nieces, Andrea, Marisa, Sofie and Aryiah, she was cherished friend to Mayra Rodriguez and Maria Masullo.
Born to Antonio and Filomena DeLuca, she was born and raised in the Ironbound section of Newark. Josephine was a proud Italian woman, who knew the value of hard work. She attended grammar school at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Newark. For her high school years, she attended St. Vincent Academy, Newark, where she graduated. She attended Essex County College, and after graduation “Jo” worked for the State of New Jersey (New Jersey Compensation Rating & Inspection Bereau) for 35 years and happily enjoyed her retirement at home in Kearny.
“Jo” loved to give back and enjoyed supporting church events and activities at both St. Stephen’s RCC, Kearny and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel RCC, Newark. But, Josephine’s true love was baking. She happily enjoyed baking and sharing her tiramisu, pumpkin cheesecake as well as her pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and many other Italian sweets.
She was a kind and sharing person, making sure her family, friends and neighbors received holiday care packages she made.
Josephine was a strong and brave fighter who beat both breast and pancreatic cancer. She remained in remission for over 10 years and until her last heartbeat, that is all in part to the care she received from Dr. Vasireddy and the nursing staff at Clara Maass.
Visitation was at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. The funeral service was from the funeral home. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at St. Stephen’s RCC, Kearny. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum, North Arlington.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Josephine’s name may be made to St. John’s Soup Kitchen, or St. Vincent Academy, both of Newark.
Elaine Grajewski
Elaine Grajewski, 78, died Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023, at St. Michael’s Medical Center, Newark.
Visitation was at the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. The funeral service was at the funeral home. Cremation was private.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Elaine lived in the Bronx before moving to Harrison in 1978.
Mrs. Grajewski was a lunch aide at Lincoln School in Harrison for several years.
She is survived by her husband Richard Grajewski, two daughters Tangy Rosado, Keya Berrocal-Dayton and her husband, Percy Berrocal, two brothers Charles Mallery and Eugene Dayton and one sister Muriel Morgan. Elaine was the grandmother of James, Mallery and her husband Ramon and Haley, and the great-grandmother of Brandon, Jecenia, Tristen, Mason, Jelina and Jayla.
She was predeceased by her siblings, Nelson, Donald and Richard and Gertrude.
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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.