Hillsborough, NJ- John R. Giarrusso, Sr., 88, entered eternal life Monday, February 27, 2012 at Foothill Acres Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Hillsborough. Born in Newark, NJ, son of the late Angelo and Mary (Wasner) Giarrusso, he grew up in Bloomfield, lived in Wayne after marriage to his bride Mae and then lived in Montclair for twenty years prior to settling to Hillsborough in 1977.
John faithfully served his country with the United States Navy as a 1st class quartermaster from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. While in the Navy he served in the Pacific Theatre aboard landing craft infantry, rocket launching ships, during the invasion of Okinawa and he was preparing for the invasion of mainland Japan at the time of Japanese surrender. John was a lifetime member of the USS Landing Craft Infantry Association and was a member of the Sampson Naval Training Association. He had a harbor pilot license for the New York Harbor and was captain of the Susan, an eighty-three foot party fishing boat that ran out of Newark. John was founder and CEO of United Tool & Stamping Company in Woodland Park. In addition, John had started the following businesses: Polaris Plating, Beacon Appliances, which was one of the first manufacturers of electric toothbrushes, United Tool & Stamping Company of North Carolina and United Tool & Stamping Company of Trenton, Tennessee, Star Stamping and Advanced Performance Technologies, later owned by SPX Corp. located in South Carolina. John took great pride in raising his cattle and thoroughbred horses at his Hillsborough farm.
Besides his parents, John was predeceased by his sister Anne Nuzzi.
John is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-five years, Mae Loretta (Young) Giarrusso, with whom he joined hands in marriage on November 22, 1947. He will be deeply missed by his loving children, Beverly and Peter Simons of Albuquerque, NM, Evelyn and John Kish of Ansonia, CT, John Giarrusso, Jr. of Hillsborough, Thomas and Margaret Giarrusso of Hope Mills, NC, James and Heather Giarrusso of Hillsborough and Marianne and Lee Smith of Winston Salem, NC; dear brother Albert and Rosemarie Giarrusso of Punta Gorda, FL; fourteen cherished grandchildren and twelve adored great grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend visitation at Countryside Funeral Home, 724 Route 202 North, Three Bridges, NJ 08887 on Thursday, March 1 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. and on Friday, March 2 from 10-11 a.m.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m. at Countryside Funeral Home. John will be entombed at Somerset Hills Memorial Park Mausoleum in Basking Ridge.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John’s memory to the American Heart Association, 1 Union Street, #301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691-4183 or the American Cancer Society, 7 Ridgedale Avenue, Suite 103, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927.
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