Thomas Mesce

Thomas Joseph Mesce, age 72, of Wayne, passed away on Sunday, April 17, 2022.

The oldest of Italian immigrant parents Ralph and Lucy (Botta) Mesce’s two sons, Tom was born and raised in Newark, NJ where he attended Essex Catholic High School and graduated with the Class of 1968. From high school Tom set right off for Essex County College then St. Gregory’s College in Shawnee, Oklahoma and ultimately graduated with his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Tom was an entrepreneurial professional in real estate and finance. He started working for Gerber Somma in the early 1980’s then, with two partners, he opened PVT Realty in the early 1990’s. In 1996, he went solo with the launching of Mesce Associates. In addition he established his First Laridian Mortgage Company and other businesses in the field of finance.

One night, while out at Joey Harrisons Bar on Van Houten Ave in Clifton, he spotted a young lady named Carol Pelak from across the room. Struck by her beauty, he couldn’t resist going to introduce himself. He soon realized that along with being beautiful, Carol was also gentle and kind. He asked her out and their first official date was to see the movie Young Frankenstein. They had a nice enough time on that date to warrant another, and then another until ultimately falling in love. They married on Sunday, July 20, 1980 at St. Andrews Church in Clifton. After a reception at the Robin Hood Inn in Clifton, they honeymooned in Acapulco. Upon their return, they started married life as husband and wife in an apartment in the Ridgefield Village in Clifton. From there they moved to their first home at 222 Union Ave in Clifton, then to 18 Montgomery Street in Clifton where they welcomed their firstborn, a baby girl which they named Alissa. In 1987 they moved one last time to their present home in Wayne where they welcomed two sons, first Vincent and then Nicholas.

There’s no doubt that one of Tom’s most greatly enjoyed pastimes was that which he did fulltime. He simply loved everything about the real estate, mortgage and land development business. He loved playing with numbers and the thrill of what he described as “a score.” Even on the day of his passing away, he was talking about some present business dealings! He was proud of his accomplishments, especially the cottages he developed in Eleuthera, Bahamas. Of course, a certain amount of stress is the close brother of any worthy endeavor in life and Tom was no exception to experiencing stress. Fortunately for Tom, way back in college, he learned how to manage that stress when he had the good fortune of meeting Master George Ing, a martial arts instructor. He started training and continued throughout the rest of his life. In the last 35 plus years, he was studying under Sifu Vizzio, a respected individual in the world of feather light kick boxing. He studied martial arts three to four times a week. It helped him relax. He was much more enamored by the form aspect than the fighting aspect. In fact, Tom won lots of awards over the years for his mastery of form. He also found relaxation in listening to music, especially the sounds of Frank Sinatra, the whole Rat Pack, Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, and any good Doo-Wop playlist.

Needless to say, being that Tom was involved in real estate and development, it’s no surprise that he also loved to dabble in a bit of travel. His favorite places were at his house down the shore in Point Pleasant Boro, his cottages in Eleuthera, Bahamans, and trips to see his family in Italy. Down the shore was a great place to enjoy the sun and surf and to go crabbing. When going to Italy, he loved to visit the places of his ancestors including Aquillonia and Paterno. He was always very proud of his Italian heritage and loved making Italian tomato sauce from the recipe that was handed down to him by his Italian immigrant parents. He considered himself an aficionado of fine foods – especially Italian food. Consequently, he had a penchant for driving his family a little bit crazy with his insistence that Italian cheese needed to be purchased from one place, Italian bread from another, and Italian pasta, etc., from yet another store. He had them running all over the place to put together the perfect Italian dinner!

Despite driving them a little bit crazy at times, there is no doubt that Tom loved his family very much and would do anything for them. Looking back, his younger brother Ralph recalls a fun memory when he and Tom were in their early twenties and Tom helped Ralph to quit smoking by taking him on a trip to Mardi Gras and to Arkansas to go on a 75 mile canoe trip down the Buffalo River. The river trip proved to be quite memorable in that Tom failed to get a waterproof tent. Of course there was a huge rain and lightning storm which forced them to sleep in soaked sleeping bags in a soaked tent. If that wasn’t enough for Ralph to deal with along with his nicotine withdrawal, a wild bear showed up while they were sleeping soaked and wet and began licking their cooking pans right outside the tent. From there the bear headed for their canoe and ate all their food. The gas lamp mantles deteriorating rendering their source of light useless almost put Ralph over the edge but he made it through the trip and the good news is that, while all that stress should have driven Ralph right back to smoking, he actually did end up quitting for good and he acknowledges that he owes all the credit to his big brother Tom. Tom was Papa to his three grandchildren, Alivia, Andréa, and Angelo and he considered them to be the best little people in his life. He loved to tease them and make them laugh and smile.

Tom will be remembered for a lot of things. He was relentlessly tenacious and he pursued whatever he went after with unshakeable vigor. He was no-nonsense himself and he would take no nonsense from anyone. If need be, he’d take on ten bad actors at once to set things right. Informed by his Catholic faith and a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne, Tom was generous to a fault. When he saw a need, he was glad to take care of a friend, or even a stranger down on their luck. His departure from this life leaves a hole that can’t be filled but his family is grateful for his love and his

Tom was the beloved husband of Carol (Pelak) Mesce, blessed in marriage for 41 years. He was the loving father of Alissa Ofmani and husband Joseph of Wayne, Vincent Mesce of Wayne, and Nicholas Mesce of Grants Pass, Oregon; best Papa of Alivia, Andréa, and Angelo; dearest son of the his late parents Ralph and Lucy (Botta) Mesce; dear older brother of Ralph Mesce and wife Terry of Millstone, NJ; dear uncle of Cassandra Quarantello and husband Greg and Gabriel Mesce; dear nephew of: Mike Mesce and his late wife Louise, Phyllis Karne and her late husband John, Anthony Mesce and his wife Aggie, Mary Wilson and her late husband John, the late Albert Canarelli and his wife Olivia, the late Ida Kalmeta and her late husband Emelio, and the late Diana DiPascale and her late husband Anthony. He is also survived by many cousins and close friends.

Those planning an expression of sympathy in Tom’s name are asked to consider:
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 230 East Ohio Street, Suite 500 Chicago, Illinois 60611
or
Cystinosis Foundation of New Jersey, 138 Donato Drive, Little Falls, New Jersey 07424