John Lazzara

John Lazzara, age 69, of Wayne, passed peacefully at home on Friday, October 15, 2021.

He was born in Paterson and raised in Pequannock having graduated from Pequannock High School with the class of 1970.  He has lived in Wayne for the past 38 years.

John’s very first job as a young boy was delivering newspapers to the homes in Pequannock.  He was recognized in the local paper as “Carrier of the Month” for his dedication.  He later worked at the family business, Lazzara’s Bakery in Paterson.  For a while he drove a tractor trailer across the country for Mayflower Moving Company.  John had a passion for fixing and building things and eventually established Lazzara Builders & Developers in Wayne.  He eventually took the Civil Service test to become a Sheriff officer and began his career with Passaic County in 1990 at the age of 37 as a courthouse officer. In 2002, he was assigned to the US Marshal Service NY/NJ Regional Task Force, based in Newark as a deputized federal marshal.  In this position he was involved in the investigation and apprehension of fugitives wanted for 1st and 2nd degree violent crimes.

John returned to the Sheriff’s Department in 2011 as Commander of the Warrant Division. In all John spent 28 years with the Sheriff’s Dept retiring in 2017 as Chief with command of the Bureau of Law Enforcement.  After a year in retirement, Sheriff Berdnik asked John to return to serve as Director of Personnel, a job he held ‘til the day of his passing. Professionally he was member of the Passaic County Police Chief’s Association, Past President of the NJ Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association, 1st Vice President of the Italian American Police Society of NJ, a member of PBA Local 286 of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, and a member of Saint Michaels Marshals Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club.

John met his wife, JoAnn Colella through a friend and their first date was a motorcycle ride.  They soon fell in love and John was going to propose marriage while enjoying a special dinner but felt other tables were too close and there wouldn’t be enough privacy.  John had pressure on him to make the proposal as friends, whom he told he was going to propose, were waiting locally to celebrate their engagement.  He found the perfect, romantic opportunity to do so while stopped at a traffic light by the Glover Avenue Bridge on the Paterson/ Totowa border.  They married on August 22, 1982 at the Town and Campus in West orange followed by a honeymoon in Hawaii.  They have enjoyed a loving, devoted marriage of thirty nine years that was blessed with two children, Michael and Alyssa.

John will be remembered as a quiet, loving, determined, honest and dedicated person.  He was straight forward and genuine in his dealings with others and funny in his own way.  Most of all John was a devoted family man.  He enjoyed family gatherings, especially Thanksgiving when he prepared his infamous Lasagna.  Over the years he has had many Harley Davidson motorcycles including a Springer, Rocker C and most recently a custom trike which he recently took to Sturgis, South Dakota for the Annual Motorcycle Rally. For many years, he enjoyed trips to his timeshare in Aruba where he would just bake in the sun.  He wouldn’t consider going anywhere else as he truly enjoyed the weather, ocean breeze and many Aruban friends.  John enjoyed Sudoku, crossword puzzles and watching his grandson’s soccer, baseball and basketball games.  

John was the loving husband of JoAnn Lazzara; devoted father of Michael Lazzara of Pequannock and Alyssa Lazzara and her husband Kyle Kerstner of Franklin Lakes; cherished grandfather of Dylan and Brandon Lazzara; and loved brother of Geraldean Hoffner of Brick, Joyanne Zuppichini and her husband Mark of Colts Neck, Cecelia Paul and her husband Kenneth of Pompton Plains, and Daniel Reilly and his wife Martha of Wyomissing, PA. He will be missed by his Sister in law, Linda Husted and Brother in Law, Louis Colella and his wife Joan, along with many nieces, nephews, great nieces,  great nephews and many close and dear friends.  John was the son of the late Ottaviano and Anne Lazzara, and Gertrude Reilly.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated.