April Cappetta

April Cappetta, age 78, of Lincoln Park, passed away on Sunday, September 19, 2021.

April was the older of Charles and Margaret “Mini” (Shultz) Norred’s two daughters. Her father was serving in the U.S. Army and nine months after he came home on a weekend of leave, April was born on Ft. Jackson Military Base in Columbia, South Carolina. Hmmmmm….. one could say he made the most of that weekend!

April grew up in her family’s home located at 14 Nash Avenue in Clifton and her childhood was going along quite splendidly. Unfortunately sadness came and things got tough when, at the tender age of ten, she faced a major setback when her father died from the effects of lung cancer contracted as a result of his Army service while stationed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, aiding in the cleanup of the devastation caused by the two atomic bombs which allied forces dropped in 1945. From that time forward, April’s life was fast-tracked to adult hood as she was forced to take on more responsibilities than a girl her age should have to in supporting her widowed mother and helping to raise her then five-year-old sister June. If there was any silver lining to this cloud, it was the fact that April learned valuable life skills in independence, stamina and perseverance. There was no mountain to high that April would not attempt to conquer.

After graduating from Clifton High School with the class of 1960, April attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School and went on to work for various companies including Main Investments, ITT, and even for the Secretary of the Treasury, William E. Simon. She later worked for Bo Sullivan Commissioner of the NJ Turnpike Authority, who ran for governor and was also head of the NJ Republican Party. In her first days working for Bo, she had an interesting experience that made for a great story. One day she answered the phone and the gentlemen on the other end of the line asked, “May I speak with Mr. Sullivan?” April’s reply was, “May I tell him who’s calling?” The gentleman on the other line said “This is the Vice President.” April’s reply was, “Vice President of what company?” The gentleman replied “The Vice President of the United States.” It was Vice President Dan Quayle! She later worked for Sun Chemical Company before retiring at age 71 from Lipo Chemical in Paterson, NJ.

One time when April was sixteen years old she went out on a double date to the local Bowl-O-Mat. April was with a young man and Frank was there with a young woman. Little did April know, that Frank was noticing her! Being a smoker at the time, when Frank got the chance, he slipped April a matchbook with his phone number written inside and asked April to give him a call. She did, and the rest is history. Their first official date was to Richard’s Car Hop in Clifton, just off of Route 46. They went in Frank’s gray, 1957 four-door Oldsmobile Super 88 and enjoyed an evening of checking out everyone else’s cool cars. The night ended with watching the usual quarter mile drag race that always spontaneously occurred on a stretch of Route 46. The race ended at an overpass where all the spectators gathered. One can’t help but wonder “Where were the cops?” But these were much simpler times. Aaaah the good old days! If you ever saw the movie Grease, the story of Danny Zuko, a tough guy played by John Travolta, falling in love with Sandy Olsson, an innocent girl played by Olivia Newton-John, you would swear that the story was inspired by April and Frank’s budding relationship. The parallels are unbelievable but with one little twist. Unlike Danny Zuko, While April and Frank were dating, Frank went off to serve in the U.S. Navy. He was scheduled to be honorably discharged on October 26, 1962, but the day before, the Cuban Missile Crisis began and he ended up serving another eight weeks. When Frank finally got home, he went for a walk with his sweetheart April in Weasel Brook Park and asked her to marry him. She said yes and they married on Saturday, May 2, 1964 at April’s church, United Methodist Church on 3rd Street in Clifton. After the ceremony, a reception was held at the Hawaiian Palms in Lyndhurst for 151 guests. Compared to today’s costs, the Hawaiian Palms charged $4.95 per plate and the bar tab for the champagne toast was $82. Looking back on 57 years of marriage, Frank liked to joke saying “If I had killed her, I would have been out in ½ the time.” Truth be told, he adored April and their marriage was one that could only be described as a true love story.

After a honeymoon in Jamaica Mr. and Mrs. Cappetta moved into their first home as man and wife – an apartment in Lyndhurst where they soon welcomed Danielle, the first of their three daughters. With need for more room, they moved to a larger apartment in a three-family house owned by Frank’s father located at 283 Buffalo Ave in Paterson where Tracy and Suzanne were born. From there they moved to their first home at 160 Olive Ave in Pompton Lakes. While her daughters were growing up, April took a break from the workplace so that she could give all her love and attention to Danielle, Tracy and Suzanne. The move to April and Frank’s next house at 157 Laurel Ave in Pompton Lakes is an interesting story! Frank went out for a weekend to play golf with his buddies. When he returned home, April announced to Frank that while he was away, for 48 hours, she had arranged to both sell their old home and purchase a new one. Talk about woman power! They enjoyed that new larger home for a number of years until moving to their present home in Lincoln Park.

April’s daughters would be the first to tell you how honored they were to call their mom “Mom.” When they were in those formative years, April was right there with them, volunteering as a class mom, on the school’s parent-teacher organization, accompanying them to Brownies and Girl Scouts, and anything else they were involved in. The fact of the matter was that frankly, April enjoyed it all. She also enjoyed shopping. She loved to dress elegantly and as a result, she had more clothing and shoes than Macy’s Department Store had. Filled with good intentions, she would get excited about something but that didn’t mean she would always follow through. For example, that stationary bike in her house had more miles on it from being moved around the house than it had from riding it. Another example was the ceramic King Tut bust that she made but never really got to the point where it could be displayed on his pyramid. She did however manage to make a beautiful statue of a Great Pyrenees dog and a memorable Christmas tree. April was also consumed with learning. She loved learning about religion and history and could often be heard saying “Teach me something!” April also loved old movies including Little Women, Gone with the Wind, Imitation of Life, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Ben Hur, The King and I, and anything produced by Mel Brooks.

April’s friendships were so precious to her. From her oldest friend Gloria, on Nash Ave, to other life-long friends including Sandy, Nellie and Ferdy, just to name a few of many. She remained close with all her friends both old and new. She also loved to get together for lunch dates with her sister June, meeting halfway between their homes and she cherished the time spent with her dearly departed sister-in-law, Joanie.

Above all else, April was devoted to and so proud of her family. She adored Frank and loved to brag about her daughters. Because of her love for her girls, she felt so saddened when her daughter Suzanne lost her little baby boy Nicholas during her pregnancy. To make matters worse, Suzanne and her husband Bert were given the painful news that they would not be able to have children of their own. With the whole family devastated by this news, April’s daughter Danielle offered to be artificially inseminated with her sister Suzanne’s and Bert’s embryo. Danielle carried their son for nine months and presented them with their own baby boy Dylan. Then Tracy’s  friend Eva did the same thing for her. And three years later Suzanne and Bert with another baby boy which they named Michael. This made Grandma April so proud of her daughters and Tracy’s friend Eva and so grateful to God for her beautiful grandsons. There was even a funny side to this miracle when they tried to explain to Frank’s father, the baby’s great-grandfather, that Danielle was going to carry Suzanne and Bert’s baby. Mistakenly thinking that Bert was impregnating his sister-in-law Danielle a, he did not approve but reluctantly said “All right, but just this one time.” Danielle’s husband Rob had fun too, telling his coworkers that his wife was pregnant, but the baby wasn’t his.

April was a devoted member of First Reformed Church in Lincoln Park where she served as deacon. Her faith in God sustained her a lot in her life and gave her such joy. That joy just beamed on her face all the time and was a huge reason for her sunny disposition. In fact, her disposition was so bright all the time, it’s a wonder people didn’t have to wear shades in her company. She would enter a room telling a joke and she’d leave the room telling a joke. She will be dearly missed but her family is thankful to know she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are confident that they will see her again someday.

April was the devoted and beloved wife of Frank, blessed in marriage for 57 years. She was the most loving mother and friend of her three daughters: Danielle Williams and husband Rob of Pequannock, Tracy Rosky and husband Pete of Wayne, and Suzanne Deutsch and husband Bert of Wayne; adored grandmother of Thomas Rosky, Robbie Williams, Jack Rosky, Nikki Williams, Nicholas Deutsch who passed in 2000, Dylan Deutsch, and Michael Deutsch; and dear sister of June Vester and husband Dr. John Vester, Michael Vester and wife Sue and Amy Vester.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in April’s name are asked to consider:
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memorial Processing
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis, TN 38105-9959
To donate online, click here (www.stjude.org)