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October 22, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, October 26, 2014 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9:30 AM on Monday, October 27, 2014 from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, NJ.
Charles W. Ferrara, Sr., age 67 of Wayne, died on Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Born in 1947, in Yonkers NY, to Joe and Lollie(Olga) Ferrara. Along with his sisters Joanne and Susie, the family moved to Maywood NJ a few years later. In 1973, after marrying the love of his life and best friend, Maureen (Fallon), they settled in Wayne where he would live for the next 41 years.
Charlie was a member of the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local One and enjoyed a thirty year career with Westinghouse and Schindler Elevator. He was proud of the many buildings he had a hand in building, including 1 Penn Plaza, Giants Stadium and the rest of the Meadowlands, as well as several hospitals and other easily recognizable buildings in the area. He was loved and respected by the guys he worked with. His sons have been fortunate to work with some of these same men many years later, all of whom made clear their appreciation of Charlie's knowledge and his willingness to teach others his craft. He was also fun to work with.
Charlie grew up in Maywood and graduated from Bogota High School with the class of 1965. Among his favorite childhood memories are the summers he spent at his family’s farm in Cooperstown, NY. At the tender young age of five his mother put him on a bus, by himself, headed for Cooperstown. He went every summer until he graduated high school. He worked hard there, tending to the chickens and cows and cutting hay along with a bunch of his cousins. He learned to drive the farm tractor as a young boy, and he went hunting and fishing with his cousins. They all had a blast and Charlie never forgot those wonderful summers.
After high school, Charlie joined the U.S. Navy. He served as a gunner’s mate aboard a destroyer escort, the USS John Willis. He enjoyed the travel, the friends he made, and the time he spent in Iceland. After being discharged in 1970, he was offered a job with Westinghouse Elevator which was eventually purchased by Schindler Elevator.
Charlie learned a lot about the trades over the years and he mastered many of them. He did all his own home improvements, making sure to teach his kids as much as he could. When it was time to rebuild the masonry steps on the front of the house, he bought a cement mixer and did everything himself – with the help of his kids, of course. When he built his own cabinets many years back, he didn’t just buy the wood…he bought an Oak tree and milled it into boards himself. He was a ‘tinkerer’; always working on something and always with a project in the works.
He was a great cook. He could put together a Thanksgiving feast for almost forty people, and he enjoyed doing this for over thirty years. He didn't stop there, a few times every year, he would make a giant batch of his famous beef stew for the church to bring down to Eva's kitchen.
Charlie loved deep sea fishing. Day trips out on the Sea Horse or the Freddie C. with his kids made him as happy as anyone could be. He also loved to visit Atlantic City or Mt. Airy Lodge in the Pocono’s. He loved sports. He and his wife Maureen watched EVERY Yankee game on TV, and during football season you didn’t bother trying to speak to him if a GIANTS game was on. His family couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of having Charlie’s visiting hours on a Sunday. He would never have agreed to that.
Charlie’s kids speak of him as being a “great dad.” He taught them as much as he could and he was always willing to do whatever he could for them. He gladly shared his recipes, his construction knowledge, and he even brought his two sons into the elevator business with Schindler. His grandchildren were the light of his life and they couldn’t have made their Poppy more proud. His family was his number one priority; nothing else mattered to him except making them happy. And for that he succeeded greatly.
Charlie met his wife Maureen (Fallon) on a blind date. She wasn’t exactly smitten at first. After a few dates though, he quickly grew on her. They were married on October 27, 1973 at Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church in Wayne followed by a great honeymoon on the island of St. Thomas. They settled into their home in Wayne a year later. He was the perfect husband to Maureen and they enjoyed a marriage that only best friends could share. He was very good to her and was always a happy person, which made him a joy to be with. He had a great sense of humor, quick wit and many one-liners. They had a lot of fun together and she will miss him dearly.
Charlie is survived by his wife Maureen (Fallon) of Wayne, his daughter; Katie Macones and her husband Jason of Wayne, his two sons; Charles, Jr. “Chuck” and his wife Laura of Wayne, and Joseph and his wife Lisa of Riverdale, six grandchildren; Kaylee, Makenna, Charlie, Max, Natalie, and Reilly, his two loving sisters; Joanne DeLavega of Pearl River, NY and Susan Disanto and her husband Fred of Saddle Brook; brothers-in-law William Fallon, and George Fallon and his wife Betsy; and many nieces and nephews. And his sister-in-law Paddy Fallon. She was not only a trusted and reliable medical consultant, but also one of his favorite people. He was grateful for everything she did for him, but most of all for her friendship.
Donations in Charlie’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 www.WoundedWarriorProject.org, would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, October 26, 2014 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9:30 AM on Monday, October 27, 2014 from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, NJ.
October 22, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, October 26, 2014 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9:30 AM on Monday, October 27, 2014 from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, NJ.
Charles W. Ferrara, Sr., age 67 of Wayne, died on Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Born in 1947, in Yonkers NY, to Joe and Lollie(Olga) Ferrara. Along with his sisters Joanne and Susie, the family moved to Maywood NJ a few years later. In 1973, after marrying the love of his life and best friend, Maureen (Fallon), they settled in Wayne where he would live for the next 41 years.
Charlie was a member of the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local One and enjoyed a thirty year career with Westinghouse and Schindler Elevator. He was proud of the many buildings he had a hand in building, including 1 Penn Plaza, Giants Stadium and the rest of the Meadowlands, as well as several hospitals and other easily recognizable buildings in the area. He was loved and respected by the guys he worked with. His sons have been fortunate to work with some of these same men many years later, all of whom made clear their appreciation of Charlie's knowledge and his willingness to teach others his craft. He was also fun to work with.
Charlie grew up in Maywood and graduated from Bogota High School with the class of 1965. Among his favorite childhood memories are the summers he spent at his family’s farm in Cooperstown, NY. At the tender young age of five his mother put him on a bus, by himself, headed for Cooperstown. He went every summer until he graduated high school. He worked hard there, tending to the chickens and cows and cutting hay along with a bunch of his cousins. He learned to drive the farm tractor as a young boy, and he went hunting and fishing with his cousins. They all had a blast and Charlie never forgot those wonderful summers.
After high school, Charlie joined the U.S. Navy. He served as a gunner’s mate aboard a destroyer escort, the USS John Willis. He enjoyed the travel, the friends he made, and the time he spent in Iceland. After being discharged in 1970, he was offered a job with Westinghouse Elevator which was eventually purchased by Schindler Elevator.
Charlie learned a lot about the trades over the years and he mastered many of them. He did all his own home improvements, making sure to teach his kids as much as he could. When it was time to rebuild the masonry steps on the front of the house, he bought a cement mixer and did everything himself – with the help of his kids, of course. When he built his own cabinets many years back, he didn’t just buy the wood…he bought an Oak tree and milled it into boards himself. He was a ‘tinkerer’; always working on something and always with a project in the works.
He was a great cook. He could put together a Thanksgiving feast for almost forty people, and he enjoyed doing this for over thirty years. He didn't stop there, a few times every year, he would make a giant batch of his famous beef stew for the church to bring down to Eva's kitchen.
Charlie loved deep sea fishing. Day trips out on the Sea Horse or the Freddie C. with his kids made him as happy as anyone could be. He also loved to visit Atlantic City or Mt. Airy Lodge in the Pocono’s. He loved sports. He and his wife Maureen watched EVERY Yankee game on TV, and during football season you didn’t bother trying to speak to him if a GIANTS game was on. His family couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of having Charlie’s visiting hours on a Sunday. He would never have agreed to that.
Charlie’s kids speak of him as being a “great dad.” He taught them as much as he could and he was always willing to do whatever he could for them. He gladly shared his recipes, his construction knowledge, and he even brought his two sons into the elevator business with Schindler. His grandchildren were the light of his life and they couldn’t have made their Poppy more proud. His family was his number one priority; nothing else mattered to him except making them happy. And for that he succeeded greatly.
Charlie met his wife Maureen (Fallon) on a blind date. She wasn’t exactly smitten at first. After a few dates though, he quickly grew on her. They were married on October 27, 1973 at Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church in Wayne followed by a great honeymoon on the island of St. Thomas. They settled into their home in Wayne a year later. He was the perfect husband to Maureen and they enjoyed a marriage that only best friends could share. He was very good to her and was always a happy person, which made him a joy to be with. He had a great sense of humor, quick wit and many one-liners. They had a lot of fun together and she will miss him dearly.
Charlie is survived by his wife Maureen (Fallon) of Wayne, his daughter; Katie Macones and her husband Jason of Wayne, his two sons; Charles, Jr. “Chuck” and his wife Laura of Wayne, and Joseph and his wife Lisa of Riverdale, six grandchildren; Kaylee, Makenna, Charlie, Max, Natalie, and Reilly, his two loving sisters; Joanne DeLavega of Pearl River, NY and Susan Disanto and her husband Fred of Saddle Brook; brothers-in-law William Fallon, and George Fallon and his wife Betsy; and many nieces and nephews. And his sister-in-law Paddy Fallon. She was not only a trusted and reliable medical consultant, but also one of his favorite people. He was grateful for everything she did for him, but most of all for her friendship.
Donations in Charlie’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 www.WoundedWarriorProject.org, would be greatly appreciated.
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