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August 3, 2012
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 from the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, 630 Valley Road, Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will be in Calvary Mausoleum, Paterson.
John Gellene age 82 of Wayne passed away on Friday, August 3, 2012 with the comfort of his family by his side.
The son of Alfred and Rose Gellene, John was born on February 28, 1930 in Paterson, where he also grew up. As a young boy in the 1930s and 1940s John loved sports, following the New York Giants baseball team and serving as the unofficial mascot of the Paterson Panthers of the American Professional Football Association, an early pro football team that played at Hinchliffe Stadium and for which his father once played. He loved to listen to the radio drama “The Shadow.”
John attended St. George’s Grammar School in Paterson, moving on to St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, where he served as manager of the basketball team and, with best friend William “Bib” Coyle, earned the nickname of “The Gold Dust Twins.” The two pulled a number of mischievous pranks. In one, John was credited with was switching the math books with the English books in the school library. As a young man, John worked as a lifeguard on Bradley Beach at the Jersey Shore, where his family owned a home in Belmar.
John graduated from St. Peters Class of 1947. After attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., John graduated from St Peters College, receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry in 1952.
He was drafted into the United States Army and served with the Army Chemical Corps during the Korean War. Honorably discharged on August 20, 1954, John attained the rank of corporal and was given the Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. Throughout his life he would remain a strong supporter of the U.S. military, and was especially proud when his son David was nominated by Sen. Bill Bradley to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.
The night before John was to join the service he proposed to Clare Ryan, who had first caught his eye in grammar school. Clare went on to attend a different high school, St. John’s High School, so John would attend functions there, hoping to gain her attention. He finally succeeded during a St. John’s dance. Their first official date took place at the New Jersey Shore, where Clare went with several family members, all of whom had dinner at the shore home of John’s parents at Belmar. After dinner, John asked Clare to the movies. They left their families behind to see “Great Expectations.” On April 25, 1953, they married at St George’s RC Church in South Paterson and honeymooned in Bermuda.
John had a lifelong dedication his Catholic faith. He was a founding parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley RC Church in Wayne and a member of the Holy Name Society at Holy Cross Church in Wayne for many years. At Our Lady of the Valley Church he was a member of the Adoration Society Chapel and committed himself to serving several hours each week. He also dedicated himself to passing on his faith to his six children; all attended Our Lady of the Valley School and DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. John also supported Catholic charitable efforts to help others. At St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, John was a regular visitor. Keeping a handwritten list of birthdays of each of the residents in his desk at home, John would purchase corsages and present each of the residents with them personally on their birthdays.
After his service in the Army John found work as a salesman with the Refined Products Company in Rutherford. He later founded his own company, J&G Sales in Wayne, taking the name from the initials of his first and last names and doing some of his early paperwork on his oldest daughter’s “Shirley Temple” table. After more than 40 years, he retired in his early 70s.
His primary hobby was golf. He played each Wednesday and Saturday, becoming intimately familiar with every green and fairway at the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, where he was a member for more than 50 years. For years he vowed to break 80 until he finally did, and along the way scored several holes in one, including one whose celebration was cut short when he left so he could see his son, Gregory, off to his senior prom.
John remained an avid sports fan. He was passionate about the San Francisco Giants, keeping his boyhood loyalties to the team, and the Dallas Cowboys, despite having New York Giants season tickets for many years. Another social activity for many years was his involvement in the Italian Circle Social Club in Paterson. John was proud of his duel Italian-Irish heritage. His father Alfred emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island.
John was relentlessly curious – about politics, world events, culture, business, local issues and numerous other matters. He loved history, from Alexis de Tocqueville to Abraham Lincoln to Alexander Hamilton. An avid newspaper reader, he would pore over several each day, zeroing in on the Opinion sections. A man of strong conviction, he loved to engage in quick-witted conversations about that day’s political controversies, foreign developments, economic news or an opinion piece he had just read, often beginning by asking others what they thought and presenting them with scenarios involving a hypothetical character he often referred to, “Jimmy Jones.”
John’s main preoccupation, however, was his family, which now numbers six children and 19 grandchildren. For years John organized reunions involving dozens of family members -- children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family members at the Belmar home, giving everyone an opportunity to catch up and eat his well done barbecued ribs. He installed a flagpole at the Belmar home, where he not only would fly the U.S flag but the state flag of whatever child of his and their family happened to be visiting. He was fascinated by what his children and grandchildren were doing with their lives, and would often offer advice in the form of a wise adage. His grandchildren knew him for his endearing playfulness, the ease with which he could make them laugh and his loving spirit.
He was the loving husband of 59 years to Clare (nee Ryan) Gellene; devoted father of Denise Gellene Bates and her husband James of Arcadia, CA, John G. Gellene and his wife Jean of New York City, Gregory Gellene and his wife Deborah of Lubbock, TX, Lisa Gallagher and her husband Eugene of Mahwah, David Gellene and his wife Ellen of Yorktown, VA, and Matthew Gellene and his wife Beth of Needham, MA; cherished grandfather of 19 grandchildren; loved brother of Albert Gellene and his wife Lucinda of MD, and the late Alfred Gellene, Leo Gellene, and Rosemary Gellene. John’s older brother, Joseph, passed away as a young boy.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to St Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, 140 Shepherd Lane, Totowa, NJ 07512 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 from the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, 630 Valley Road, Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will be in Calvary Mausoleum, Paterson.
August 3, 2012
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 from the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, 630 Valley Road, Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will be in Calvary Mausoleum, Paterson.
John Gellene age 82 of Wayne passed away on Friday, August 3, 2012 with the comfort of his family by his side.
The son of Alfred and Rose Gellene, John was born on February 28, 1930 in Paterson, where he also grew up. As a young boy in the 1930s and 1940s John loved sports, following the New York Giants baseball team and serving as the unofficial mascot of the Paterson Panthers of the American Professional Football Association, an early pro football team that played at Hinchliffe Stadium and for which his father once played. He loved to listen to the radio drama “The Shadow.”
John attended St. George’s Grammar School in Paterson, moving on to St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, where he served as manager of the basketball team and, with best friend William “Bib” Coyle, earned the nickname of “The Gold Dust Twins.” The two pulled a number of mischievous pranks. In one, John was credited with was switching the math books with the English books in the school library. As a young man, John worked as a lifeguard on Bradley Beach at the Jersey Shore, where his family owned a home in Belmar.
John graduated from St. Peters Class of 1947. After attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., John graduated from St Peters College, receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry in 1952.
He was drafted into the United States Army and served with the Army Chemical Corps during the Korean War. Honorably discharged on August 20, 1954, John attained the rank of corporal and was given the Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. Throughout his life he would remain a strong supporter of the U.S. military, and was especially proud when his son David was nominated by Sen. Bill Bradley to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.
The night before John was to join the service he proposed to Clare Ryan, who had first caught his eye in grammar school. Clare went on to attend a different high school, St. John’s High School, so John would attend functions there, hoping to gain her attention. He finally succeeded during a St. John’s dance. Their first official date took place at the New Jersey Shore, where Clare went with several family members, all of whom had dinner at the shore home of John’s parents at Belmar. After dinner, John asked Clare to the movies. They left their families behind to see “Great Expectations.” On April 25, 1953, they married at St George’s RC Church in South Paterson and honeymooned in Bermuda.
John had a lifelong dedication his Catholic faith. He was a founding parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley RC Church in Wayne and a member of the Holy Name Society at Holy Cross Church in Wayne for many years. At Our Lady of the Valley Church he was a member of the Adoration Society Chapel and committed himself to serving several hours each week. He also dedicated himself to passing on his faith to his six children; all attended Our Lady of the Valley School and DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. John also supported Catholic charitable efforts to help others. At St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, John was a regular visitor. Keeping a handwritten list of birthdays of each of the residents in his desk at home, John would purchase corsages and present each of the residents with them personally on their birthdays.
After his service in the Army John found work as a salesman with the Refined Products Company in Rutherford. He later founded his own company, J&G Sales in Wayne, taking the name from the initials of his first and last names and doing some of his early paperwork on his oldest daughter’s “Shirley Temple” table. After more than 40 years, he retired in his early 70s.
His primary hobby was golf. He played each Wednesday and Saturday, becoming intimately familiar with every green and fairway at the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, where he was a member for more than 50 years. For years he vowed to break 80 until he finally did, and along the way scored several holes in one, including one whose celebration was cut short when he left so he could see his son, Gregory, off to his senior prom.
John remained an avid sports fan. He was passionate about the San Francisco Giants, keeping his boyhood loyalties to the team, and the Dallas Cowboys, despite having New York Giants season tickets for many years. Another social activity for many years was his involvement in the Italian Circle Social Club in Paterson. John was proud of his duel Italian-Irish heritage. His father Alfred emigrated from Italy through Ellis Island.
John was relentlessly curious – about politics, world events, culture, business, local issues and numerous other matters. He loved history, from Alexis de Tocqueville to Abraham Lincoln to Alexander Hamilton. An avid newspaper reader, he would pore over several each day, zeroing in on the Opinion sections. A man of strong conviction, he loved to engage in quick-witted conversations about that day’s political controversies, foreign developments, economic news or an opinion piece he had just read, often beginning by asking others what they thought and presenting them with scenarios involving a hypothetical character he often referred to, “Jimmy Jones.”
John’s main preoccupation, however, was his family, which now numbers six children and 19 grandchildren. For years John organized reunions involving dozens of family members -- children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family members at the Belmar home, giving everyone an opportunity to catch up and eat his well done barbecued ribs. He installed a flagpole at the Belmar home, where he not only would fly the U.S flag but the state flag of whatever child of his and their family happened to be visiting. He was fascinated by what his children and grandchildren were doing with their lives, and would often offer advice in the form of a wise adage. His grandchildren knew him for his endearing playfulness, the ease with which he could make them laugh and his loving spirit.
He was the loving husband of 59 years to Clare (nee Ryan) Gellene; devoted father of Denise Gellene Bates and her husband James of Arcadia, CA, John G. Gellene and his wife Jean of New York City, Gregory Gellene and his wife Deborah of Lubbock, TX, Lisa Gallagher and her husband Eugene of Mahwah, David Gellene and his wife Ellen of Yorktown, VA, and Matthew Gellene and his wife Beth of Needham, MA; cherished grandfather of 19 grandchildren; loved brother of Albert Gellene and his wife Lucinda of MD, and the late Alfred Gellene, Leo Gellene, and Rosemary Gellene. John’s older brother, Joseph, passed away as a young boy.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to St Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, 140 Shepherd Lane, Totowa, NJ 07512 would be appreciated.
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