John Brugaletta

John Brugaletta, age 87, of West Milford, passed peacefully at home on Friday, May 27, 2022.

He was born and raised in Paterson having graduated from Eastside High School then Passaic County Technical High School in Paterson.  As a matter of fact under his yearbook photo he stated he wanted to own his own auto repair shop.

As a young man he entered the workforce as a pin-setter at a bowling alley in Paterson. Through the years he has worked as a ticket checker for the NJ Transit Train System, on the assembly line at Ford Motor Company’s Mahwah Plant and from 1969 forward he was a partner in W&J Transmissions in Bloomingdale.

John met the love of his life Mary “Betty” E. Leobold just out of high School and they married on July 12, 1958 at Saint George’s Church in Paterson.  They honeymooned at the Jersey Shore and had a loving marriage that was blessed with three children: Doreen, John, and Kathy. John and Betty were married for fifty-nine years before Betty’s passing in 2017.

John will be lovingly remembered as the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. Everything with him was a lesson and taught responsibility.  He enjoyed joking around with the kids, loved boating, and enjoyed his home at Chadwick Beach at the Jersey Shore. He was a family man who loved a good time.  He also enjoyed motorcycles having had a Norton, BSA, Ducati, and Harley Davidsons.

John was the loving husband of Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Brugaletta (d. 2017); he was the devoted father of Doreen and her husband Tom of Vernon, John Brugaletta, Jr and his Fiancé Joy Schilling of Haskell, and Kathy McCormick and her husband Kevin of Durango, Colorado; he was the cherished grandfather of Deena Anderson and her husband John, Alyse Watson and her wife Enis, Janell Caruso and her wife Rayna, Kyrsten Brugaletta and her fiancé Danny Osmun; Heather Brugaletta, Connor McCormick, and Braydon McCormick; he was the dearly loved great-grandfather of John Michael Anderson, and Lorenzo John Caruso;  loved brother of Lucille Satnowski of Neshanic Station.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the West Milford First Aid Squad, PO Box 387, West Milford, NJ 07480 would be greatly appreciated.