Nicholas “Joe” Hickey

Nicholas Joseph Hickey, “Joe Hickey” age 89, of West Milford and a longtime former resident of Wayne, passed peacefully on Saturday, May 28, 2022.

The fourth child and only son of Nicholas J. and Sadie (Kane) Hickey’s six children, Joe was born in Paterson and grew up in Hawthorne in the family’s home at 150 Buena Vista Avenue. He graduated from Hawthorne High School and promptly enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he was assigned to the Mediterranean theater aboard the USS Rich, a destroyer, during the Korean Conflict. He proudly served his country from 1951 to 1955 and for his brave service, was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.

One night in 1954, while home on leave from the Navy, Joe made the acquaintance of an attractive young lady named Gloria Profita. That night Joe asked Gloria if he could call her in the future but, having to return to Navy duties he didn’t get the chance to call till almost a year later when the next New Year’s Eve party came around. For that party in 1955, Gloria was Joe’s date and he told her that very night that he was going to marry her. As things worked out, Joe was right! They exchanged wedding promises on a Saturday which Joe described as gorgeously sunny and beautiful. It was October 12, 1957, and the wedding took place at St. Paul’s Church in Clifton.

After a honeymoon to Montreal in Québec, Canada, Joe and Gloria stayed briefly with Gloria’s parents on 130 Clinton Avenue in Clifton. While there, Joe recalled eating a lot of beans and macaroni. They moved several times after that, ultimately settling in 1962 in their ­­­home in Wayne.

After the war, Joe worked for a brief time as a painting contractor before taking a job in the accounting department at Curtiss-Wright Corporation and then Singer Kearfott. In the evenings Joe studied business management and accounting at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. Because he worked full-time by day to support his wife, daughter and three sons, it took Joe ten years of night classes, but in the end, he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Having achieved this accomplishment, he sought better opportunities and worked for various firms, culminating with Prudential Insurance Company before retiring fully at age 61 in 1994.

A love of sports simply put, was part of Joe’s pedigree. He played football and baseball at Hawthorne High School and one time even pitched a no-hitter in fast pitch softball. Baseball was his favorite sport. In the words of Joe’s daughter Anne (aka Chick), “My dad lived for baseball!”

As a father, Joe enthusiastically coached his sons and other boys in baseball and basketball for more than ten years in the Catholic Youth League and at the Wayne PAL. His three sons have fond memories of Joe piling way more young athletes into his bright red Ford Pinto than the law permitted, to take them home after games. Probably Joe’s only regret was not doing sports with his daughter Anne, but he beamed with pride watching her perform in the Wayne Monarchs Drum and Bugle Corps.

Joe grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan and even remained one when the team moved to Las Angeles, California in 1958. For the next four years, he had no home team to cheer for (he HATED the Yankees), but in 1962 he began rooting for that hapless new expansion baseball team from Flushing Queens – the New York Mets. Joe plugged for his Dodgers and Mets and as he’d say, “Any team that was playing the New York Yankees!” In 1969, when the Mets, hapless no more, won the World Series, Joe was given two tickets to Game 5. This was an unheard-of opportunity for a guy like Joe and he was thrilled to say the least. It did however pose one dilemma – which one of his kids was he going to take with him for this once-in-a-lifetime chance?  If you really want to know what Joe decided, you’ll have to ask them 😊. Joe also loved watching Notre Dame and New York Giant football games and St. John’s basketball games. He always watched these games with the volume turned all the way down because he thought the announcers were universally terrible and, if his team was losing, it wasn’t unusual for him to turn off the game in disgust.

Joe was a much-loved and respected father who would do anything for his kids. As already mentioned, he was a great mentor to his three boys teaching them the virtues of hard work and competition as one of their coaches in youth sports. He’d do anything for his daughter Anne too – even go ice skating with her when she was a Girl Scout. Once, when Anne missed the bus to go on a Girl Scout field trip to see the circus as Madison Square Garden, Joe drove her in his car so she wouldn’t miss the trip. This was a true act of love as everyone knew how much Joe hated and dreaded driving in New York City. He loved to play with his kid’s minds too. For example, his son John, being the youngest, always seemed to get the short end of the stick so, just to bring sons Joe and Mike down a few notches, he told them that he took their younger brother John to the moon and that he wasn’t going to take them. The older boys were furious! If Joe were a politician, he’d be the kind who would kiss all the babies. He adored his own grandchildren and great-children, kissed them as babies and enjoyed being at all their activities and milestones and witnessing them growing into what God created them to be. He enjoyed many afternoon picnics and holidays with his and Gloria’s siblings and their families, always with many nieces and nephews running around having fun.  His wife Gloria was his best friend and together, they liked taking car trips to Rhode Island to see their daughter Anne and her husband Vince where they’d hold hands while enjoying a stroll or drive along Ocean Drive.

Joe was a real character. He always rooted for the underdog and if you said black, he’d say white. One of the main rules that he lived by was that rules were meant to be broken. An unspoken understanding in the house was that his wife Gloria’s yard was her paradise. This was fine because Joe always preferred watching sports on TV compared to working in the yard. That said, on those rare occasions when he did put on his landscape hat, he’d usually break the rules which would get him in trouble. One time Joe bit off more than he could chew when, while Gloria was shopping, Joe messed with her outdoor paradise by chopping down all the bushes in front of the house. His vision for improvement ended there so when she came home, it was curtains for Joe. Oh yes! Gloria was angry but not nearly as angry as another time when Joe pulled a George Washington and cut down Gloria’s glorious cherry tree. That move inspired the bestowment of the title “Landscape Undertaker” and for three days Gloria refused to talk to Joe. Talk about awkward silence at the nightly family dinner table! Joe was a numbers guy. He loved playing Yahtzee and he was great at remembering phone numbers which came in handy when he wanted to order a pizza from Tony’s in Pompton Lakes.

Joe and his dear wife Gloria were always people of faith. As husband and wife, they regularly engaged in prayer to the Holy One but, in the 1970’s, Gloria and Joe experienced a spiritual awakening.  Gloria was endlessly nourishing and growing her faith. Joe’s journey took a slightly different path than Gloria’s, a genuine walk all the same. From that time going forward until his passing, Joe quietly read his bible which helped him to the joy of leaning on the Lord and applying God’s truths to his life in practical, tangible ways.

Joe was a real people’s peep! After retirement, he’d often walk the neighborhood. Walks that should have taken a half-hour took Joe two-and-a-half hours because he’d talk to anybody and everybody along the way. He loved getting to know people, loved hearing their stories, and loved sharing a laugh. This became a regular pastime and one that was missed by so many around his house when his body stopped cooperating in his later years. For his final years Joe, and Gloria, were supported by loving caregivers at home; caring individuals who became beloved family friends. As well as five grandchildren all took turns on the schedule to care for there grandparents. Joe eventually ended up living at Milford Manor in West Milford and, for the last year, he won the hearts of so many fellow residents and very special  staff. He was so popular that, if they had an election for “The Mayor of Milford” Joe would have won it! One of Joe’s greatest gifts was being a good listener, encourager, and offer-er of sound advice. Whether it was giving his kids or grandkids or a bit of guidance about how he’d go about a challenge or encouraging a friend or acquaintance with a problem, Joe was a natural restorer of hope and renewed inspiration to many.

For the last twelve years of his life, Joe refused to succumb to a diagnosis and battle with Parkinson’s. He was a true warrior, and, like any warrior, he fought this battle with the help of many a caregiver during his last years in his home in Wayne as well as the good people at Milford Manor. To all those caregivers, and you know who you are, a huge THANK YOU, from Joe’s entire family.  

Joe was the beloved husband of Gloria, blessed in marriage for 62 years until her passing in 2020. He was the loving father of: Anne and husband Vince Traglia of Middletown, RI, Joseph P. Hickey and fiancé Tina Belis of Oak Ridge; Michael and wife Alieda Hickey of Franklin Lakes, and John and wife Kathy Hickey of Mendham; cherished grandfather of Kristen and husband Chris, Ashley, Joe, Jade, Sydney, Sarah and husband Charlie, Nick and fiancé Alexa, Michael, David, Nina, James, and Alana; cherished great-grandmother of Julianne, Michael Kevin, and Brooklyn; dear brother of five sisters: Sally Burke (deceased) and her husband Joe of Vero Beach, FL, Mary Diehl (deceased) and her husband Paul (deceased) of Sebastian, FL, Irene Rossi of Montville and her husband Vince (deceased), Patricia Harris (deceased) and her husband James (deceased) of Elmwood Park, and Sharon “Sherry” Stella and husband Bill Cass of Mount Laurel; the much-appreciated uncle of numerous nieces and nephews, and a beloved connection to old Hawthorne and family friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Joe’s memory would be appreciated to:

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s

Donation Processing

P.O. Box 5014

Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014

To Donate by Phone: 1-800-708-7644