Louis E. DeSocio Passes Away

There will be a memorial service at Costello-Runyon Funeral Home, 568 Middlesex Ave., Metuchen, NJ, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

By John & Louis DeSocio God decided that Heaven needed to be painted, so he called our father, Louis E. DeSocio (Parkside Painting), on Friday morning, Feb. 22, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., to do the job.  Dad had advanced Parkinson’s and was living at Manor Care Nursing Facility in Mountainside for the past two years.  For the past six months he was under Hospice care.  His wife, Teresa DeSocio, predeceased him on Nov. 16, 2011.  He is survived by sons, John & Louis DeSocio, daughters: Ermalinda D’Ulisse, Paula Dickerson, Edith Samuellian, and MaryAnn Lotito; grandchildren: Allen Knee, Elizabeth Williams, Mary Fitch, Raymond D’Ulisse, Amy Martel, John Paul D’Ulisse, Amanda Arciero, Cara Marie Badalamenti, and Michael Badalamenti; and great-…

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Summit Resident Ben Zukoff, 20, Passes Away After Battle Against Cancer

Services will be held 12:30 p.m. today at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel in Livingston, N.J., with interment to follow at Beth Israel Cemetery, Cedar Knolls.

Benjamin Robert Zukoff of Summit, N.J., passed away after a valiant battle against cancer. Ben was almost 21. Ben leaves behind loving parents, Mimi and Paul Zukoff; a loving brother, Sam Zukoff, as well as grandparents, Ella and Martin Zukoff, and Irene Preiser; uncles, Ed Zukoff and David Preiser; aunt, Jane Preiser; cousins, Jessica, Lexi and Greg Preiser, and very special girlfriend, Halli James. Ben lived life to the fullest. He was a very talented woodworker, furniture designer, glass blower and ceramics artist. In addition, Ben loved all aspects of technical theater having served as Summit High School student technical director from 2007 to 2010, and as a member of the RIT tech crew since 2010. Ben was passionate about Judaism and …

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Local And State Officials Issue Statements On Death Of Former UC Assemblywoman

Summit resident Betty Cox, who served in the NJ Assembly in the 1970s and represented Union County, has died.

Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, Morris and Somerset, issued a joint statement today regarding the death of former Assemblywoman Elizabeth "Betty" Cox, 85. The former legislator represented Union County: “Although Betty’s tenure as a legislator was brief, she served the people of New Jersey and her constituents in Union County with distinction and honor. Her service to our state and, in particular to Union County, is appreciated and will not be forgotten. On behalf of the Assembly Republican caucus, I wish to offer our sincerest condolences to Betty’s family and friends.” Cox served in the Assembly from November of 1971 to December of 1972. She also worked for the NJ Department of Community Affairs from 1991 to 2002 and …

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Eva-Maria Wilson, 79, Worked on Wall Street; Beloved Singer, Volunteer, and Grandmother

November 18 at the William Dangler Funeral Home, 309 Springfield Avenue, Summit from 12-1pm, with a Memorial Service following immediately at 1pm.

Eva-Maria (nee Erdenberger) Wilson, 79, of Berkeley Heights, passed away suddenly on Nov. 8, at her home following a fall.  She was born May 20, 1933 in Dresden, Germany, and moved to the U.S. in 1953.  She is survived by her son Scott and daughter-in-law Melanie of Summit, and their children Amanda, Carly and Matthew; and by her daughter Claudia and son-in-law Ted Howard of Mt. Bethel, PA and their children Peter, Jimmy, Arianna and Alex.  She is also survived by her sister Gabrielle Hiltunen of Redding, CT, brother Uli Erdenberger and his wife Hella of Edison, NJ, and brother Peter Erdenberger of Naples, FL and many, many loving nieces and nephews and their children.  She is pre-deceased by her sisters Annemarie and Audrey. Eva lived in …

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Local Navy SEAL Killed in Action

Funeral arrangements have been made for Matthew Kantor, a Gillette serviceman, who was killed in Afghanistan on Nov. 1, 2012.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Kantor, 22, was killed in Afghanistan Nov. 1. Kantor, a Navy SEAL, died from a gunshot wound, according to the Department of Defence. Kantor was from Gillette, NJ. His parents, Ken and Mary Jane Kantor, are the owners of Kidding Around Childrenswear in New Providence. He was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit in Virginia Beach, VA. Capt. Robert Smith, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Two, told the Navy Times: "[Kantor] has paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and shipmates during this very difficult time." Visitation will be held at the Valley Memorial Funeral Home, Thursday, Nov. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. …

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Rev. Canon Denise G. Haines, Former Archdeacon and Educator, 73

Reverend Haines’ ministry began as chaplain at Overlook hospital in 1975 and then as a chaplain supervisor at Allentown State Hospital in 1977 while she was living in Summit.

The Reverend Canon Denise G. Haines, in the vanguard of women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, former Archdeacon of the Diocese of Newark and developer of innovative clinical pastoral care programs died on October 8th in Summit, NJ.  She was 73.  The cause was cancer, said her daughter, Elizabeth L. Haines. She was a resident of Summit from 1967 to 1986 and then again from 2007 until the time of her death. In 1973, Mrs. Haines was accepted as a student at The General Theological seminary in New York City at a time when women were not permitted to enter the priesthood. In 1976, The Episcopal Church, in General Convention, approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate.  In 1977,  Mrs. Haines was …

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Lois Schneider Remembered As a 'Hero'

"She became the blueprint for banks, restaurants and a wide variety of businesses who wanted to ingratiate themselves in the community. The blueprint was ‘How does Lois do it.’

Alaina Levane Giordano, 38

Alaina Levane Giordano, 38 of Towamensing Twp., Kunkletown, passed away at home on Monday June 25, after a courageous battle with cancer. Alaina was born in Edison, N.J. on February 1, 1974, the daughter of William F. and Grace (Luciani) Hillard of Kunkl

Alaina Giordano, 38, Former Summit Resident

Giordano who died late last month was part of a publicized legal battle. She lost custody of her two children due to her battle with breast cancer.

By Lisa Belkin Alaina Giordano died at the age of 38. Her children were by her side. Giordano had breast cancer and made headlines when she lost custody of her two children, 12-year-old Sofia and 6-year-old Bud because a judge ruled that she would become too ill to care for them. It was, I wrote last year, a wrenching case -- the ugliest of divorce battles combined with a tragic cancer tale. Giordano, a freelance writer, could not leave her doctors in North Carolina (whose clinical trials she credited for keeping her stable for four years) and wanted to keep her children with her in the home they'd always known. Her ex-husband, Kane Snyder, took a job in Chicago (the only one he could find in this economy, he said) and a judge ruled that …

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