Nicholas D. Carone age 81 of Wayne passed peacefully at home on Thursday, October 16, 2014.

Nick was born on Christie Street in New York City and raised on Grand Street, Broome Street and Kenmare Street all in New York City. He met Helen Dario while on a blind date to the Academy of Music and Movie Theatre on 14th Street in Manhattan. He proposed to Helen at the behest of his father as his dad was a partner in a brand new Italian American Club being built on Avenue U in Brooklyn and he wanted to have the first wedding held at the club. Nick proposed and they married on December 7, 1957 at Saint Josephs Catholic Church on Catherine Street in New York City. They honeymooned in Miami Florida and it was so cold they never got to take off their jackets. Helen being frustrated by the cold weather did take her coat off and lay across the diving board at the pool posing for a photo. Helen and Nick enjoyed fifty-seven years of a loving, devoted marriage.

Nick’s first and only job was working for his father Nicola. Nicola was all about trying to make a buck. He was a self taught refrigeration technician and radio repairman in the 1930’s. Nicola’s understanding of electricity and eye for business had him making electric cheese graters for the restaurants, pizzerias and grocery stores. He then made refrigerated dough retarders to help store pizza dough. Eventually the family went into the restaurant equipment business making pizza ovens and mozzarella shredding equipment. The family business is still in operation today and called Bari Equipment it is located in the Bowery District of New York City. Nick retired from the family business in 1983 due to health concerns.

Nick was a veteran of the Korean War and attained the rank of Corporal before being honorably discharged.

Nick shared a great story about his father Nicola’s business life. His father was extremely good with electronics. He once made a radio transmitter and set it up in his building to transmit Italian music over the Irish music radio station’s frequency. His local transmitter overrode the Irish neighbors station and stopped their incessant dancing. Once a local Chinese man got word of this and asked Nicola to make him a local transmitter that he could install in a truck. Nicola refused to make the transmitter until he was told the Chinese man’s intentions. They became partners and Nicola made the truck mounted transmitter. They would park the truck in a neighborhood, with Chinese music and commentary being transmitted from the new Chinese station that only they had the radios for, and sell these special radios to the local Chinese laundries of which there were many. The radios cost $1 to make and they sold them for $5.00 up front and then another $5 in a month…if they didn’t like the radio they would take it back and refund the $5.00. Once the truck left the neighborhood the radio station disappeared and the radios didn’t work. They would then return with the truck to the neighborhood for the second installment of $5.00 and the radio owners would complain the radio’s didn’t work. Nicola would chide them for touching the dials of the radio and re-tune the radio to the truck’s frequency, collect the second $5.00 payment, and again leave the neighborhood.

Nick was one of the founding fathers of the Boys and Girls Club of Wayne. He and his family volunteered many hours in their founding of the club.

Nick is the loving husband of Helen (Dario) Carone; loving father of Nicholas F. Carone of Wayne, Jennifer Montemarano and her husband Jeff of Kinnelon, and Mary Ramsden and her husband John of Kinnelon; cherished grandfather of Gabriella and Francesca Montemarano, Samantha Ramsden, and the late Nicole Ramsden(2010).

For those inclined to send a memorial donation in lieu of flowers Nick personally requested donations to honor the memory of his late granddaughter Nicole Ramsden (2010), be send to: St. Josephs Pediatric Oncology, c/o St Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, 703 Main St., Paterson, NJ 07503.