Joseph “Pa-Joe” Mazza

Joseph “Pa-Joe” Mazza, age 94, of Wayne passed peacefully on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

He was born in Suffern, New York and raised in Paterson having graduated from Eastside High School with the Class of 1942. After high school Joe enlisted in the United States Army where he served in the South Pacific Theatre of WWII having served in the Philippine Islands, New Guinea, and the Dutch East Indies. He recalled that while refurbishing military vehicles on the Island of New Guinea he experienced an earthquake and remembers the mud being so bad that it was too difficult to walk to the mess tent on rainy days. He served with the 3018th Ordinance Company / 141st Ordinance Base Automotive Maintenance Battalion before being honorably discharged in 1946. For his service he received the Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Philippines Liberation Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Before going into the service Joe worked at the Sipp-Eastwood Corporation in Paterson as a machinist.  He soon went into the service and when he returned from the service he got his job back again at Sipp-Eastwood. He attained 1st Class Machinist qualifications and worked for Continental Can in Paterson and Wright Aeronautical in Caldwell before retiring in 1988 from the Colgate-Palmolive Corporation in Jersey City.

Joe and his wife JoJo met almost by chance.  Joe just happened to be with an Army buddy who had stopped off to visit a girlfriend.  Josephine was there as well, and she caught Joe’s eye.  They hit it off right from the start.  Their first date was to the Regent Theatre in Paterson, which didn’t go so well.  Josephine broke out in hives and Joe rushed her home!  Nevertheless, they fell in love and Joe proposed marriage at Lake Atrium in Suffern, New York.  They were married on February 28, 1948 by the Honorable Judge Milton Shamuck in Paterson, during a pretty severe snow storm.  Joe and JoJo honeymooned at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. They have since enjoyed sixty-seven years of a loving and devoted marriage.  They were always together and they complimented each other perfectly.

Joe recalled that his home in Wayne cost $14,500.00 in 1962 and his taxes were $400.00 per year.  He also remembers his first car was a yellow and black 1929 Chrysler Roadster Cabriolet with a spare tire on each fender and a trunk mounted on the back of the car. His grandmother had a boarding house and one of her tenants couldn’t pay the rent so he gave her the car.  She saved the car for Joe and gave it to him as a gift.

For many years Joe and his wife JoJo enjoyed spending time in Cape May New Jersey. They also enjoyed Boxer dogs and had five over the years.  One of them was a show dog that won 3rd, 2nd, and eventual 1st Place/Best of Breed in area dog shows. Most of all Joe will be remembered for being a loving and devoted family man who loved his wife and daughter and was very proud of the accomplishments of his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Many will also remember Joe as “Mr. Handy – Mr. Fix-it.”  If you had a problem with something at the house Joe was the go to guy in the neighborhood.

Joe was the loving husband of the late Josephine “JoJo” Mazza (2014); devoted father of Debra Mastrogiovanni and her husband Robert of Wayne; cherished grandfather of Jennifer Piro and her husband Marc of Wayne, and Laura Mauriello and her husband Albert of Wayne; much loved great-grandfather of Madison and Samantha Piro, and Daniel and Andrew Mauriello; dear brother of the late Alfred Lee Mazza and his surviving wife Lucy, Anthony Mazza and his wife Grace of Wanaque, and John Mazza and his wife Arlene of Whiting; much loved uncle to many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Ennoble Hospice, 2 University Plaza Drive, Suite 204, Hackensack, NJ 07601 would be greatly appreciated.