Carmen Miele

Carmen N. Miele, age 78 of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 30, 2023.

Carmen was born and raised in Paterson where he was a graduate of Eastside High School with the Class of 1962. 

From quite a young age, Carmen worked for his father Nicholas’ trucking company Miele’s Express which originated in Paterson. The love of trucks and trucking quickly got into Carmen’s blood and after he finished high school,  he made trucking his life’s ambition working full-time in the family business. When it was time for his father to retire, Carmen took over and throughout the ensuing years, moved the business first to Railroad Ave in Wayne, and later to Little Falls. Miele’s Express was primarily contracted to deliver appliances and their motto, which was painted on all their trucks was “Fast, Dependable Service.” When Carmen turned 65, he retired but soon after took a job hauling asphalt for a local paving company. He always expressed how much he loved the smell of asphalt!

Carmen’s greatest loves included evenings watching The Sopranos, Sundays watching NASCAR and cheering on his two favorite drivers, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr., and going with his beloved wife Arleen to Atlantic City to test his luck, mostly on the slot machines, at Trump Casino and Resorts and Showboat Casinos. When the truck show in Englishtown came along every year, Carmen would take one of his own trucks, detail and shine it up, and head to the show where he’d enter his truck into the competitions. He loved that truck show and enjoyed the camaraderie of all his fellow truckers. Full retirement came after COVID. With time to burn, he frequently enjoyed  going with his buddy J.B. to one of the local diners for breakfast. 

Above all else, Carmen’s greatest joy was being with his family. Carmen met his wife Arleen while delivering to an appliance store where Arleen worked in the office. He took a liking to her  and was the first to volunteer to deliver to her store just so he’d have an excuse to see her again. Carmen eventually mustered up the courage and asked Arleen out. Their first date was to a restaurant on a mountain called the Red Apple Rest in Mahwah. That date was followed by numerous others and eventually to marriage on Saturday, November 21, 1964 followed by a honeymoon in Miami Beach, Florida. For many years it was family tradition to get together at Carmen’s parent’s house or Arleen’s parent’s house for Sunday dinner. When his three children were young, the family enjoyed annual trips to Lake George. They also vacationed all over Pennsylvania, in Mystic, Connecticut, in Virginia, and they took several trips to Disney World. He and Arleen one time visited Las Vegas and they also enjoyed a trip together to the Bahamas and, for the last eight years to Orlando or Bradenton, Florida. When blessed with his grandson Nicholas, Carmen and Arleen enjoyed taking him to Turtleback Zoo and to the park. He also enjoyed seeing his “grand-dogs” and one of them in particular – George – would often hang out with him at the warehouse and go on the trucks with him. Carmen also loved to go out for dinner with his family. Favorite foods were lasagna, baked ziti, meatball parmigiana and eggplant parmigiana and favorite restaurants were John’s in Butler, Michelle’s in Garfield, and Libby’s Lunch in Paterson.

Carmen was an easy going, easy-to-like man. He loved talking with people and had no problem making friends wherever he went. For the past few years, health concerns including a battle with cancer made life a challenge but, through it all, Carmen remained optimistic and friendly. Now he is at rest and, while he will surely be missed, his family and friends are grateful that his suffering is over and thankful for the years they were blessed to share many happy memories.   

Carmen was the beloved husband of Arleen (Kanischak), blessed in marriage for 58 years. He was the loving father of: Christina Conklin and her husband Dennis of Butler, Laura Miele and her husband Michael Squeeze of Butler, and the late David Miele who passed away in 2022; cherished grandfather of Nicholas; and dear brother of Marion Skaf and late husband Rich of Bloomingdale.

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In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Carmen’s name are asked to consider one of the following charitable organizations:

American Cancer Society

To donate by mail, simply click here to complete the form, print it, and mail your completed donor form with your check to this address:

P.O. Box 6704

Hagerstown, MD 21741

Please indicate that your gift is in memory of Carmen Miele

Wayne Animal Shelter

201 Pompton Plains Crossroad

Wayne, NJ 07470

Please indicate that your gift is in memory of Carmen Miele