Obituaries

Margaret D. Giordano of Cedar Grove, formerly of Whiting, New Jersey, passed away on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at age 99.

Born on January 7, 1921, in Orange, New Jersey to C. Elmer and Ella (Arale) Klein, Margaret, along with her sister, Betty, grew up in the Orange Valley. Upon leaving school, she worked at one of the small leather factories in the area. With the outbreak of World War II, Marge changed jobs, making bomb sites for planes. She married Bob Giordano

She married Bob Giordano in 1943, accompanying him to California prior to his deployment to the Pacific Theater of operations. Bob left for the South Pacific, eventually landing on Iwo Jima, and Margaret returned to the Orange Valley and later secured a job with Monroe Industries as a technician.

Dr. William Shapiro, formerly of Livingston, died on June 1 at 90 after battling Lewy Body Dementia.

Born in Irvington to Irving Shapiro and Molly Blinder, and raised in Newark, Shapiro graduated from Rutgers University Newark and earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from Columbia University.

After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War, Shapiro taught history at Lincoln Junior High, Mountain High and West Orange High Schools.

He lived in Livingston for about 20 years. In the 1980s, he helped lead an effort to keep Harrison School open. In 1997, he ran a grassroots campaign for the New Jersey State Assembly. Upon retirement, Shapiro moved

Upon retirement, Shapiro moved to Jackson and then to Parkland, Florida.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Gail; his son, Michael Shapiro; his daughter, Jan Johannsen; his daughter-in-law, Lauryn Shapiro; his son-in-law, Randy Johannsen, and four grandchildren.

Lucia Ilaria, 87, of Livingston, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

A resident of Livingston for over 60 years, Lucia is survived by her children Mike, Paul, and Deborah; her brother, Joseph Roselli; her grandchildren, Michael, Jr., Derek and his wife, Vanessa, Anthony, Francesca, Nicole, and Elizabeth; her nieces, Helen and Donna; her nephews, Patrick, Richard, and Robert Roselli; and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, Peter; her husband, Gabriel; her mother, Ida; her father, Patsy; and her brothers, Richard, Ralph and Patsy Jr. Born in Newark on November 8,

Born in Newark on November 8, 1932, Lucia was a great athlete and a well-educated young woman. She was hitting home runs long before her brother Joe, who went on to play baseball professionally for the Giants Farm Club. The family’s athletic genes clearly passed down to her youngest grandson, Michael. Lucia was a talented hairdresser, who

Thomas J. Schafer, born April 4, 1960, a lifelong and third generation resident of Livingston, New Jersey, passed away on June 3, 2020, at the age of 60, suddenly, after a short illness.

Tom built a successful career over many years at Somerset Tire Service, where he managed various branches throughout the state of New Jersey.

Tom’s true passion was both growing and selling fresh vegetables, especially pumpkins, at his roadside farm on Passaic Avenue and Parsonage Hill Road in Livingston, New Jersey. The farm had originally been founded by his grandfather in 1920 as a dairy farm.

A loving son and brother, Tom was preceded in death by his parents, John and Gertrude Schafer, and is survived by his three brothers, John W. Schafer, Clifford Schafer, and Douglas Schafer, as well as several nieces and nephews.

On Saturday, May 16, 2020, Jean Klein, beloved wife of Melvin Lewis Klein, passed away at the age of 90 with her husband by her side. Jean and Mel Klein were residents of Livingston, New Jersey, for 60 years, where Mel served as superintendent of schools. Jean was the loving mother of Kathryn Klein Anderson (John. H.) of College Grove, Tennessee; Linda Klein of Livingston, New Jersey; and Leslie Klein Chatzinoff (Howard) of New York, New York. She was the grandmother of Amanda Anderson Myers (Kevin) of Maryville, Tennessee; Gregory Chatzinoff of New York, New York; Russell Nitzberg of New York, New York; Joelle Nitzberg Grant (Michael) of Middletown, Connecticut; Jill Chatzinoff of Washington, D.C.; and Matthew Chatzinoff of New York, New York; and the great-grandmother of Anderson David Myers of Maryville, Tennessee. She was the daughter of the late Joseph Fine and Rose Fine of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the sister of Ruth Sharon and the late Ethel Handelsman and Sylvia Seletz.

Jordan Bruce Baris was born in Brooklyn, New York to Joseph and Ida (Gleischenhaus) Baris. He lived in Newark and West Orange, and later in Maplewood and Livingston. He died on June 1.

After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School, Mr. Baris enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific, primarily in the Philippines, during and following the end of World War II. Returning home, he graduated from City College, where he developed an interest in real estate.

He moved to New Jersey in 1952 and founded a company now known as Jordan Baris Real Living.

Mr. Baris also served as president of chambers of commerce, real estate boards and other organizations, and received the Realtors Community Service Award two times. In the 1970s, he formed the New Jersey Coalition for Safe Communities.

He was predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Marjorie, in 2014. They had three children, Russell, Joan Terry and Kenneth, and five grandchildren.

Mary Elizabeth Gusky, beloved wife of Lenny and mother of Diane, David, and Leslie, lived to the grand age of 100 years. As Mary told her children, “I’ve lived a good life.”

Born March 25, 1920, in Maplewood, New Jersey, Mrs. Gusky was the first of Joseph and Christine Frayne’s six children. Her close and supportive family guided her life of helping others and community involvement. Mary loved socializing with her family and friends and was happy when entertaining at home. By embracing life with extraordinary fortitude, creativity, and kindness, she was an inspiration and a hero to her children. Mary died peacefully at her home on June 4, 2020.

Michael George Melo, Jr., died suddenly on Sunday, May 24, at his home in Washington, New Jersey. Mr. Melo was born in East Orange

Mr. Melo was born in East Orange and raised in Livingston. He received an associate’s degree in computer science from the Chubb Institute of Technology and worked for Syngent, a managed service provider.

Mr. Melo is survived by his son, Zachary Melo of Seaside Heights; his mother, Theresa Melo of Ledgewood; his sister, Stephanie Melo of Flanders; and his girlfriend, Fran Schizzano of Washington. He was predeceased by his father, Michael George Melo, Sr.

Funeral services are private and under the direction of the Knoll-De-Voe Funeral Home in Washington. Due to the current state regulations on gatherings, a memorial service will be planned at a later date. Donations to the American Heart Association are welcomed.

Helen Shumsky passed away on April 15 at age 97. She was living at the Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center at the time. Helen was a long-time resident of Livingston, having lived in a quaint colonial house on Wardell Road for over 60 years. She and her husband, Peter, who died in 1983, purchased the Wardell house in 1952.

Helen and Peter had one child, a daughter, Petrina, born about 1949. Besides raising Petrina, Helen’s primary activities in her young adult years revolved around her job at Bamberger’s in Morristown. Helen was a buyer and later a floor manager for women’s clothing sales. She retired from Bamberger’s in the 1980s.

While Helen was an active young adult, her most notable achievements occurred when she was a senior. Helen was an active member of the Livingston Historical Society, the Livingston Women’s Club and the Livingston AARP Chapter.

J. Lynn Safran (née Englander), formerly of Livingston, died on Friday, May 29. She had resided at the retirement community Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains for the past seven years, after having lived in Livingston for almost 47 years.

Born in Newark to Julia and Jay Englander, she grew up in West Orange, and went to Cornell University where she studied history and psychology. She earned her master’s degree at Montclair State University.

Lynn taught in New York for one year before joining the Livingston High School staff. Her tenure there was short as she became a member of the original Heritage Junior High School teaching staff. Former students have commented about being in her Heritage social studies class at Mt. Pleasant when JFK was killed.