Thomas Joseph Naiman

Thomas Joseph Naiman, age 84, of Riverdale passed away peacefully on January 1, 2021 while receiving the loving care of his family.

Tom was born in Staten Island and was one of five children to Chester and Mary Anne Naiman.  The family moved to Linden where Tom attended Linden High School and graduated with the class of 1954. While in high school, Tom was a member of the Track and Field team.  Following high school graduation, Tom attended Seton Hall University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business in 1958.  Tom found work quickly after graduating college, accepting a position at Time Share Consulting Company in Newark where he worked in Finance.  Tom later worked for various other companies including Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Chilton Memorial Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, Jersey City Medical Center, and St Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson.  During this time, Tom went back to Seton Hall University and eventually earned his Master’s Degree in Business in 1972.  Tom’s career in Finance Management spanned over forty-two years until his retirement in 2000.

In 1961, Tom was introduced to a young attractive woman name Lois Palmer by some mutual friends.  Tom invited Lois to accompany him to a day down the shore at Point Pleasant.  The couple hit it off great and started dating.  As fate would have it they fell in love and two years later on May 4, 1963 Tom and Lois became husband and wife.  They were married at Mt Carmel RC Church in Bayonne.  The couple settled in Bayonne after they were married until 1968 when they moved to Roselle.  After spending about twelve years in Roselle, and as their family began to grow, they moved to Wayne in 1980 where they raised their children and remained until 2005.  In 2006, Tom and Lois moved to Riverdale and have been there ever since.

One of Tom’s favorite past times was reading the newspaper and was always ready to lend a helping hand.  He was a member of the American Guild of Patient Account Managers, based out of Washington DC.  Tom was also a member of the Roselle Board of Education from 1973-1976, as well as the Wayne Hills Band Boosters where he was president for eight years during the 1990’s.  Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.  His greatest passion was clearly his family.  Nothing made Tom happier than spending time with his children and grandchildren.  For Tom and Lois’ twenty-fifth anniversary, they took a memorable trip to Niagara Falls.  Another cherished family memory was their trip to Disney with their grandchildren in 2008.

Tom was not only devoted to his family but also to his Catholic Faith.  He and his family were parishioners of Holy Cross RC Church in Wayne for  forty  years.  During that time Tom was very active in the church and was a Eucharistic Minister.  Tom and Lois cherished over fifty-seven years of loving and loyal marriage.  Tom was a quiet and private person, yet he was easy-going, caring and deeply loved his family.  He touched the lives of many people and will be sincerely missed by his family and friends alike.

Tom is survived by his wife Lois (nee Palmer) of Riverdale, his daughter Dawn Lopez and her husband Diego of Buford, GA, one son Thomas Naiman and his wife Angela of Lake Hopatcong, two additional daughters; Renee Potter and her husband Carl of Fontana, CA, and Andrea Figueroa and her husband Domingo of Boonton, NJ, one brother Edward Naiman of Emerald Isle, NC, and nine grandchildren; Kaitlyn Lopez, Stephanie Lopez, Christopher Naiman, Nicholas Naiman, Hannah Naiman, Bryan Figueroa, Sidney Figueroa, Shawn Potter, and Ashley Potter.  He was predeceased by his three brothers; Douglas Naiman, James Naiman, and Chester Naiman.  He was also predeceased by his grandson Andrew Potter.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Thomas’s name may be made to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.  http://www.stjude.org