Stephen De Carlo

Stephen F. De Carlo, age 90 of Wayne and formerly of Rochelle Park, passed away on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Steve had been a licensed electrician in NJ and served as a Foreman for the Rutherford Board of Education where he worked over 42 years until he retired in June 1996.

Steve was born in Manhattan.  His family then lived for a short period of time in Passaic, NJ closer to relatives until finally settling in Rutherford, NJ. He was the third eldest of twelve children in his family, with the eldest sister passing away around eight years old. With so many mouths to feed, Steve entered the workforce after finishing high school. His father was a carpenter and taught him the trades which turned to serve as a great value to his future. He started working for the Rutherford Board of Education school system as a custodian and worked his way into doing various trades for the school system.  He also obtained his Black Seal Boiler License.

It was in Rutherford that Steve met his wife, Elsie. As the story goes, Steve’s mother and eldest sister would babysit for Elsie’s daughter Patricia, when the two first met.  Elsie & Steve fell pretty hard for one another! Steve also adored little Patty.  Elsie laid a kiss on Steve that he couldn’t forget, and the rest is history. They were married on August 3, 1957, and enjoyed a honeymoon to Bermuda. The two of them were inseparable and did just about everything together. Steve was a devoted husband and father, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his family.  He taught his children sports and attended all of their events. The family participated in the church folk group where Steve would happily help with all of their instruments.

While working during the day, Steve started classes at the Bergen County Tech Vocational School which eventually led to him becoming a licensed electrician. He continued to work for the Rutherford Board of Education by day and did electrical & TV repair side jobs after work and on weekends; sometimes taking his children with him to help and learn.  When Elsie began fighting cancer, he was by her side through every doctor visit and treatment. Sadly, Elsie passed in 1989 and Steve has grieved for her ever since. He then assumed the role of both father and mother to his children.  They would take him along with them everywhere and he was an active part of their adult life.  He enjoyed collecting and running 0 Gauge toy trains with his son and grandsons.  Steve also loved to video-tape all of their family events, and he took great pride in editing the videos and adding music soundtracks. He would make copies for the growing family to share.  They have hours of videos to cherish for their lifetimes. He was also a devoted grandfather and never missed an opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren. He would often babysit his grandchildren and never missed their events.  They adored their PopPop.  

Steve was a big fan of the NY Yankees. He also enjoyed following politics and was an avid reader. After his wife passed away, he began studying the Bible and his faith deepened greatly. He became very religious and read the entire Bible four times. He enjoyed sharing his catholic faith with his grandchildren. Although he could be stubborn at times, he was always kind, helpful, and generous with his skills and most importantly his time. He was always willing to help if you asked and put his family first.

Steve is survived by two children; Thomas De Carlo and his wife Sherri of Wayne, and Margaret “Peggy” Duffill and her husband Bill of Maywood, His son in law Joe Farsijani of Florida, six grandchildren; Stephen, Thomas, and Matthew De Carlo of Wayne, Luke and Leah Duffill of Maywood, and Michael Atanas and his wife Allison of Florida, four great-grandchildren; Mackenzie, Morgan Ryleigh, Morgan Patrick, and Maya, three sisters; Marie De Carlo of Toms River, Catherine Fernandi of Seattle, Susan Rossi of S. Jersey, two brothers; Frank of Whiting and Danny of East Rutherford. Steve was predeceased by his dear wife Elsie in 1989, and by their daughter, Patricia Atanas-Farsijani in 2019 , two sisters; Catherine De Carlo and Dina Leonte, and by four brothers; Carlo, Joseph, Vito, and Dennis.