Elio Sanchez

Elio Benicio Sanchez, age 87, of Wayne passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, while receiving loving care from his family in his home.

Elio was born and raised in Oriente Cuba in 1934. He was loved by his parents Benicio Sanchez & Lucila Mayo Sanchez, wife Eva Sanchez, siblings Hermelindo Sanchez, Millina Arocho and Lourdes O’Reilly, his daughter Lucila Maria Couso, son-in-law Antonio Couso and grandchildren Nicole, Alexis, and Anthony Couso, and many nieces and nephews.  

Elio spent his childhood playing basketball, baseball, and endless games of dominos. As he became older, he became known as “Mr. Fix it” and had many different careers. He was extremely hard working and had so much pride in everything he did. He lived and achieved the American Dream. When he came to the US from Cuba, he worked in a factory making straws, he then sold clothing in the garment district of NYC, owned his own grocery store in Queens, owned a potato chip route, and was a salesman/distributor for bodegas throughout NY. While he had these multiple careers, friends & family would call him to change a cable wire, paint their walls or fix their curtain rods. Again, he was Elio, “Mr. fix it”.

Elio and Eva were married for 63 years and spent over 70 years together. They were only 15 years old when they met in Cuba and lived two blocks away from one another. When they wanted to go on dates, they would need supervision to go to the movies or go out dancing. One of their favorite spots was the Zombi Club for dancing on Saturday nights. They got married Dec 11th, 1958 and shortly after decided to leave for America on Dec 24th, 1958. On May 20th, 1963 they had their daughter Lucila Maria, which formally settled their lives in NYC until Lucy turned 11 and they moved to Queens, NY. They sold their home 5 years ago in Queens and moved to Wayne, NJ to be closer to their daughter, son-in-law and 3 grandchildren.  Elio’s pride & joy was being a father and later in life becoming a grandfather of Nicole, Alexis & Anthony.

Elio is loved deeply and will be missed greatly, but we know he’ll be playing dominoes with a Bacardi and coke in his hand.

Those planning an expression of sympathy in Elio’s name are asked to consider:

Attn: Development Department
Alzheimer’s New Jersey
425 Eagle Rock Ave, Suite 203
Roseland, NJ 07068
Make check payable to Alzheimer’s New Jersey
You can also donate by calling 973-586-4300 or online at www.alznj.org