Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Calls outside of office hours? No worries! Our team will respond within 10–15 minutes.
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4-7 PM on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from the funeral home then to Holy Cross RC Church, 17 Van Duyne Ave., Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Entombment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
Norman J. Rolleri, age 86, of Wayne, passed peacefully at home on Sunday, July 24, 2016.
He was born in Paterson to Louis and Cora Rolleri and graduated from Central High School in Paterson with the Class of 1947. He began his undergraduate studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and because of costs he had to transfer to New York University where he graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering with the Class of 1951.
Like so many o fhis generation, he was a brilliant engineer who quietly accomplished so much over his career that spanned nearly 40 years. He spent the majority of his career with the Curtiss Wright Corporation in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Norman worked on early jet engine technology testing ramjet engines in White Sands, New Mexico; building a power plant in Kuwait, and working on overhauling of the J57 Engines for the Air Force’s KC-135 military tankers. When the doors of Curtis Wright closed in Woodbridge, Norman worked for Lear Siegler in Florham Park, New Jersey as a program manager of the avionics package of McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. He was honored for his work on this program by the Royal Australian Air Force.
Norman and his wife Rose were founding parishioners of Holy Cross RC Church in Wayne. Norman served as a Trustee of the church for many years. He was an avid flower gardener right up until the days before his passing. One of Norman’s loves was golfing. For many years he played on the Curtis Wright Golf Team and more recently at the Passaic County Golf Course in Wayne. When his ability to play golf waned he started to re-grip and repair clubs just to keep his mind active in the game. Norman was also active in the model airplane community having been a member of the Wayne Modelers Club for many years. He has flown model airplanes in Wayne, Lincoln Park, Branchburg, and many years ago he flew them along the unfinished corridor designated for Route 80’s construction.
Norman’s future wife Rose’s brother Michael was looking for someone to go on vacation with. Her dear friend Dorothy Rolleri offered to ask her brother Norman if he would be willing to go with Michael. Norman obliged and when he arrived at Michael’s house to leave for that vacation, there was Michael’s sister Rose. As Norm put it, Rose was wearing a beautiful white blouse and for him, love at first sight was the understatement of the century. Norman couldn’t wait to get back from vacation so he could ask Rose out! She accepted and their first date was to the Windbeam Club off of Route 23. They spent the night dancing to live music and soon their love was mutual. Future dates included trips to New York City to see Broadway shows like Guys and Dolls and The King and I. One day, Norm and Rose were out for a drive. He suddenly pulled over and asked Rose for her hand in marriage. She gladly accepted and with the approval of Rose’s parents, they became engaged on Valentine’s Day and married the following Halloween, October 31, 1953. The wedding was celebrated at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Paterson. Following a romantic honeymoon to Florida, the newlyweds settled into an upstairs apartment with her parents in the house Rose grew up in. She continued working at First National Bank until God blessed them with their first child, a beautiful daughter which they named Patricia. Upon the arrival of their second-born, another dear girl which they named Norma Jean, the family moved out of that apartment in Paterson, into their brand new home in Wayne, NJ. By now Rose was a full-time super homemaker and she quickly made that new house a home where everyone wanted to come home to. Soon after the move the family grew to five when they welcomed that son they had been waiting for. They named him Robert.
Many fond family memories were made with an annual week-long vacations to Long Beach Island. Each year, during Norman’s birthday week in July, they would rent a different house on Long Beach Island from 1963 through 1984. Norman will be remembered as the kind of man that could fix anything. He was meticulous, very intelligent, had the patience of a saint, and understood how things worked. Many will also remember him as a confidant who would listen for hours and do his best to help you and give you perspective on your situation. He also cared and was concerned for others more than himself. Most of all Norman was dedicated to his family and loved to see the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. He also loved his son-in-laws Robert and Matthew, and daughter-in-law Gail as if they were his own children.
Norman was the beloved husband of the late Rose Grace Rolleri (2013); devoted father of Patty Dox and her husband Matthew of Wayne, Norma Falcone and her husband Robert of Warren Township, Robert and his wife Gail of Cary, North Carolina; cherished grandfather of Matthew James, Meghan, Stephanie, Michelle, Melissa, Lucas, and Rachel; much loved uncle of Fred and Ernest Sesso, and Susan Bracco. He was predeceased by his sister Dorothy Rolleri in 2015.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Passaic Valley Hospice, PO Box 1007, Totowa, NJ 07511-1007 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 from 4-7 PM on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from the funeral home then to Holy Cross RC Church, 17 Van Duyne Ave., Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Entombment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4-7 PM on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 8:30 AM on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from the funeral home then to Holy Cross RC Church, 17 Van Duyne Ave., Wayne where a 9:30 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Entombment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
Norman J. Rolleri, age 86, of Wayne, passed peacefully at home on Sunday, July 24, 2016.
He was born in Paterson to Louis and Cora Rolleri and graduated from Central High School in Paterson with the Class of 1947. He began his undergraduate studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and because of costs he had to transfer to New York University where he graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering with the Class of 1951.
Like so many o fhis generation, he was a brilliant engineer who quietly accomplished so much over his career that spanned nearly 40 years. He spent the majority of his career with the Curtiss Wright Corporation in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Norman worked on early jet engine technology testing ramjet engines in White Sands, New Mexico; building a power plant in Kuwait, and working on overhauling of the J57 Engines for the Air Force’s KC-135 military tankers. When the doors of Curtis Wright closed in Woodbridge, Norman worked for Lear Siegler in Florham Park, New Jersey as a program manager of the avionics package of McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. He was honored for his work on this program by the Royal Australian Air Force.
Norman and his wife Rose were founding parishioners of Holy Cross RC Church in Wayne. Norman served as a Trustee of the church for many years. He was an avid flower gardener right up until the days before his passing. One of Norman’s loves was golfing. For many years he played on the Curtis Wright Golf Team and more recently at the Passaic County Golf Course in Wayne. When his ability to play golf waned he started to re-grip and repair clubs just to keep his mind active in the game. Norman was also active in the model airplane community having been a member of the Wayne Modelers Club for many years. He has flown model airplanes in Wayne, Lincoln Park, Branchburg, and many years ago he flew them along the unfinished corridor designated for Route 80’s construction.
Norman’s future wife Rose’s brother Michael was looking for someone to go on vacation with. Her dear friend Dorothy Rolleri offered to ask her brother Norman if he would be willing to go with Michael. Norman obliged and when he arrived at Michael’s house to leave for that vacation, there was Michael’s sister Rose. As Norm put it, Rose was wearing a beautiful white blouse and for him, love at first sight was the understatement of the century. Norman couldn’t wait to get back from vacation so he could ask Rose out! She accepted and their first date was to the Windbeam Club off of Route 23. They spent the night dancing to live music and soon their love was mutual. Future dates included trips to New York City to see Broadway shows like Guys and Dolls and The King and I. One day, Norm and Rose were out for a drive. He suddenly pulled over and asked Rose for her hand in marriage. She gladly accepted and with the approval of Rose’s parents, they became engaged on Valentine’s Day and married the following Halloween, October 31, 1953. The wedding was celebrated at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Paterson. Following a romantic honeymoon to Florida, the newlyweds settled into an upstairs apartment with her parents in the house Rose grew up in. She continued working at First National Bank until God blessed them with their first child, a beautiful daughter which they named Patricia. Upon the arrival of their second-born, another dear girl which they named Norma Jean, the family moved out of that apartment in Paterson, into their brand new home in Wayne, NJ. By now Rose was a full-time super homemaker and she quickly made that new house a home where everyone wanted to come home to. Soon after the move the family grew to five when they welcomed that son they had been waiting for. They named him Robert.
Many fond family memories were made with an annual week-long vacations to Long Beach Island. Each year, during Norman’s birthday week in July, they would rent a different house on Long Beach Island from 1963 through 1984. Norman will be remembered as the kind of man that could fix anything. He was meticulous, very intelligent, had the patience of a saint, and understood how things worked. Many will also remember him as a confidant who would listen for hours and do his best to help you and give you perspective on your situation. He also cared and was concerned for others more than himself. Most of all Norman was dedicated to his family and loved to see the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. He also loved his son-in-laws Robert and Matthew, and daughter-in-law Gail as if they were his own children.
Norman was the beloved husband of the late Rose Grace Rolleri (2013); devoted father of Patty Dox and her husband Matthew of Wayne, Norma Falcone and her husband Robert of Warren Township, Robert and his wife Gail of Cary, North Carolina; cherished grandfather of Matthew James, Meghan, Stephanie, Michelle, Melissa, Lucas, and Rachel; much loved uncle of Fred and Ernest Sesso, and Susan Bracco. He was predeceased by his sister Dorothy Rolleri in 2015.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Passaic Valley Hospice, PO Box 1007, Totowa, NJ 07511-1007 would be appreciated.
Guestbook