Obituaries for the week of Aug. 28, 2024

John Keogh

John Keogh of North Arlington died Aug. 23, 2024.

His arrangements are by the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. Visiting will be Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024 from 3 to 7 p.m. and Mass will be celebrated Friday, Aug. 31, at 10 a.m. at our Lady of Sorrows Church, Kearny. His remains will be buried in the family grave in Ireland.

John was the loving husband of Alice (nee Donorovich) and cherished father of Danny (Lauren) and Sean (Lynn). Brother of George, Michael, Mary Keogh Schmalling (Bill) and the late Patrick, he was the devoted grandfather of Dylan, Ryan, Johnny, Kelly and Colin. Also surviving is his aunt Pauline aka “Daughter,” many nieces and nephews along with many cousins and friends. John was especially close with cousin Jim Heaphy and now is reunited in heaven with his dearly departed friend John Hempel.

Larry Vernieri

Larry Vernieri of North Arlington died Aug. 25, 2024.

He was 94.

Visiting will be Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. Prayers in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, will be the same morning at 11 a.m.

He is survived by his loving children Anthony and Florence.

Helen I. Ketz

Helen I.  Ketz (nee Robertson) passed away on August 24, 2024. She was 85. Born in Harrison, she lived in Kearny before moving to North Arlington 45 years ago. Visiting is at Armitage Wiggins Funeral Home in Kearny on Tuesday August 27 from 3 until 7:00 p.m. Service will be Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home and cremation will be private.

Helen was an administrative assistant for McGovern Monument Co. in North Arlington. She taught Yoga and Tai Chi both at the Kearny Adult School.

Wife of the late George, she is the mother of Lisa Eager (Tom), George Ketz (Dale), Lauren Fawcett and the late Thomas and Christine Ketz. Sister of Marguerite Robertson and the late John H. Robertson, Theresa Vacca and David W. Robertson, she is also survived by her grandchildren; Samantha, George, David, Amanda, Gabrielle, Jennifer, George and Kaitlin.

In lieu of flowers kindly consider a donation to The Vietnam Memorial Fund.

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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.