April 2019 Issue Obituaries

STEWARD — Barbara Heritage Steward, age 95, passed away peacefully on Feb. 6 at home in San Antonio, TX.

She was born in Swedesboro on Sept. 30, 1923 to Elwood and Helen Heritage. She married Ira Steward and together had three children. She had an avid interest in travel, sparked by military assignments of her husband to Bermuda, Virginia, Phillipines, Japan, Georgia, Germany, and Texas.

Barbara was a member of Freedoms Foundation and Military Officers Wives Club. A talented artist, she was adept in oils, water colors, and Chinese brush painting.

Barbara is survived by two daughters, Karen (Tom) Spence and Brenda Steward; three grandchildren Michelle (Todd) Chaikin, Brian (Marina) Spence, and Melanie (Fred) Joiner; six great-granddaughters Hailey and Kelsey Chaikin, Olivia and Ava Spence, and Naomi and Erika Joiner. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ira; son, Ken; and brother Ford Heritage.

Donations may be made in Barbara’s name to a favorite charity. 

LEOTTA — Frank Leotta passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on Sunday, Feb. 10. Born on May 30, 1955 in Woodbury and raised in Swedesboro, he was predeceased by his parents, Sam and Alfina Leotta. He is survived by his wife, Susan; his children, Zachary and Natalie; and his sister and brother-in-law, Rosalyn and Joe.

Frank played drums his whole life and was an outstanding musician. He also enjoyed gardening and had a beautiful garden every year. He will remain in our hearts and prayers forever.

Please visit www.htlayton.com to leave a note of condolence to his family.

TYSON — Charles T. Tyson (“C.T.”), age 76, of Mullica Hill, passed away peacefully on Feb. 19 at the Samaritan Hospice in Voorhees, NJ.

Born in Morven, NC, Charles is Mayor Emeritus of South Harrison Township and owner/operator of C&T On-the-Green Landscape Co. He is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn; daughter, Tanya; son, Todd (Jodi); grandchildren, Ashley, Tyler, Madison, Zach and Steven (Tiffany); devoted niece, Shena; sister, Betty Davison; brother, David; brothers-in-law, Kenard Lloyd and Daniel Hickman; sisters-in-law, Jean Johnson, Frances Harvey and Patricia Miller; god children, Deidre Lloyd, Sadiq Ore and Omar Hickman and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

WOLFE — Elinor Ruth Wolfe, nee Haugh, 85, of Mullica Hill, passed away Feb. 21 at home. She was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and moved with her family to Glassboro where she graduated from Glassboro High School in 1951. She then attended Philadelphia Bible Institute.

Ruth was a homemaker who enjoyed nature (especially bird watching), gardening, crocheting and needlepoint, playing her clarinet and the piano, and most of all, being with her family. She and her husband are members of Washington Baptist Church, Turnersville.

Predeceased by her daughter-in-law, Bonnie, she is survived by her husband of 63 years, Paul C. Wolfe; 2 sons, Jonathan and Steven; 2 daughters, Ruth Ann Pavone (Richard) and Debra Zammarrelli (John); her sister, Helen Morita; 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandson.

Share condolences at www.mathisfuneral.com.

DAYTON — Bessie M. Dayton, 77, of Woolwich Township passed away peacefully at her home on March 1.

Born in Millville to the late Kenneth Gandy and Thelma Handley Gandy, she was the wife of the late William Stepp. Bessie was raised primarily in the Wildwood area and had lived previously in Florida and Bridgeton. She had been a resident of Woolwich Township for the past eight years.

Prior to her retirement, she had worked as a nurse’s aide for the former Manheim/Bridgeton Nursing Center in Bridgeton for over 35 years. Bessie was also a proud homemaker who tirelessly cared for her family. In her free time, Bessie was an avid reader especially of her favorite author, Kat Martin. She was also a fan of the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks.

She is survived by; two children, Bonnie Mason of Upper Deerfield Township and Mark Dayton and his wife, Virginia Dayton of Bridgeton; six grandchildren, Kristy Taylor of Bridgeton, Tina Taylor of Deerfield Township, Shannon Furey of Woolwich Township, Jonathan Dayton, Jr. of Woolwich Township, Shane Dayton of Vineland and Dylan Dayton of Bridgeton; a brother, Kenneth Gandy; eleven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by; a son, Douglas Gandy; her husband, William Stepp; two grandsons, Lincoln Hawk Dayton and Matthew Dayton and a great-granddaughter, Hayden Dayton.

Written condolences can be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.padgettfuneralhomes.com.

GAROZZO — Catherine I. Garozzo, (nee Maccarone), 99, of Woolwich Township passed away March 9 at Inspira Medical Center, Woodbury, with her family at her side.

Born in Catania, Sicily, she lived most of her life in the Woolwich Township area. She was a homemaker, in charge of raising 4 children, but after her husband Angelo passed away in 1964, she took over managing the family farm. She sold produce at the former Swedesboro Auction and everyone there affectionately knew her as ‘Catherine the Great.’ She was past President of the PTA of the former St. Joseph’s Grammar School in Swedesboro and a member of St. Clare of Assisi Parish.

She is survived by her daughter, Concetta (Tina) (Nick) Miskofsky, her sons, Joseph (Dorathy), Vernon (Shirley), and Anthony (Barbara) Garozzo. 13 Grandchildren and 21 Great-grandchildren, and her sister, Angelina (Tom) Grasso. She was predeceased by her siblings, Joseph Maccarone, Samuel Maccarone and Mary Chila.

Arrangements were handled by the Cheega Funeral Home, Swedesboro. Contributions in her memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tn 38105 or on line at www.stjude.org would be appreciated.

NICOLOSI — Rosa F. Nicolosi, (Nee Santucci) 72 of Logan Township passed away March 7 at Crozer Medical Center, Upland, PA. Born in Wilmington, DE, she lived in Logan Township for the past 47 yrs.

Rose was a graduate of Penns Grove High School, Class of ’64, and a member of St. Clare of Assisi Parish. She was a homemaker, a farmers wife, raising the kids and working on the family farm. She was a tremendous cook, loved feeding family and friends and had the gift of gab, talking to everyone she met, whether she knew them or not. Enjoyed an occasional trip to the casino, was an avid baseball fan but the Yankees were her favorite.

Rose is survived by her husband of 47 years, Joseph, her daughters Sara Nicolosi, Emma (Liam) Magee and Rosa Nicolosi. Her granddaughters, Ella and Chelsea Magee. Her siblings, Marie Johnston, Emma Gerber, Thomas, Fortunato and Francis Santucci. She was predeceased by her brothers, Julius and George.

Arrangements were handled by the CHEEGA FUNERAL HOME, Swedesboro. Contributions in her memory to the American Stroke Organization at americanstroke.org would be deeply appreciated.

ROHRMAN — Albert C. Rohrman Jr., 77. If you knew him when he was older you’d be shocked to learn that in his youth he may have been a little rambunctious. Swedesboro High refused to announce Al’s awards at graduation. Their loss, as Albert went on to study at Temple on scholarship, finished his degree in chemistry at St. Joseph’s University and paid for it all working at Mobil Research, where over the next 35 years, he would co-author 22 papers and was responsible for three patents in chemistry. Of course you’d never hear it from Al; way too humble to tout his accomplishments. Al retired from Mobil Research and went on to consult with ICDD in Newtown Square; more of a labor of love than a job.

At age 10 he joined the Trinity Episcopal “Old Swedes” Church starting as an acolyte and ending as a Eucharistic minister. He was the 10 percent who quietly does 90 percent of the work. If he wasn’t working on the church, he was restoring one of Swedesboro’s centerpieces: the Rulon House known affectionately as the “Musty Mansion.”

Al thought life should be lived at 130 mph a quarter mile at a time; earlier years found him drag racing at tracks around the area. If the weather was right he’d head out on his sailboat: Mis Fortune. Al took flying lessons to keep up with his wife who was already well on her way to a pilot’s license. The sophomore Albert would start dating the freshman Edie Auten. He and Sweet Pea would share a 54 year marriage.

He is survived by his sister, Eileen Marie Lynch (Frank) and was Uncle Butch to Fawn Gardner, Fern Toth and Michael and Christopher Brocco. He was predeceased by his sister, Karen O’Lexy. Contributions can be made to Trinity Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 51, Swedesboro, NJ 08085.

HURFF — Dale Gordon Hurff, age 71, of Center Square, overcame many medical challenges and beat the odds, but his body and spirit finally agreed he needed to rest, no longer struggle, and be at peace. Dale passed away on Monday, March 18 in Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury.

Born in Woodbury, son of Eleanor Jones Hurff and the late Gordon Hunt Hurff, Dale had been a lifelong Center Square resident. He was a 1968 graduate of Kingsway High School, and he had been a self-employed farmer. He was an accomplished 4-H member in showing beef cattle and sheep, and he was proud of achieving Grand Champion. He also was a proud member of the FFA.

He enjoyed all things farming, including attending farm sales and riding through the countryside and taking in the farm fields. He also enjoyed visiting Lancaster County and, in his earlier years, he enjoyed hunting.

Most of all, he loved his children and grandchildren. They were his pride and joy. In addition to his mother, Eleanor Jones Hurff, Dale is survived by his daughter, Brittni Hurff (& Serge Bibeau); his son, Brett Hurff (& Taralee); his daughter, Brandi Hurff; his grandchildren, Tyler, Madison, Kaylan, Nines, Ainsley, Harrison, Jackson, Teagan, Branson, Braelie, and Braedan; his great-grandson, Jameson; his sister, Linda; his brothers, Kenneth, Don, and Bruce; and his former wife, Robyn Hurff.

Burial was in Lake Park Cemetery in Swedesboro. Donations may be made in Dale’s name to the Salem County 4-H Foundation, 51 Cheney Rd., Suite 1, Woodstown, NJ 08098. Please visit www.htlayton.com to leave a note of condolence to his family.

CASELLA –Salvatore ‘Sam’ Casella III, 64, of East Greenwich Township and formerly of Woolwich Township.

He had a very formal sounding name, but to most of us he was The Bear. As big and burly as he was, he was also kind and generous. Like his father, Sam loved to spend time working on the family farm, and he also served as a special officer with the Woolwich Township Police Department. He died March 21, 2019.

In high school, Sam worked a little harder getting suspended than he did on schoolwork – he and his best friend, Ronnie, once drove a tractor through the halls of Kingsway High School, hoping they could return to work instead of the classroom. He learned his trade at Azzari Construction, a business started by his uncles in the 1950s. He later opened his own company, Good Fellows Concrete. They joked that their specialty was “vests and shoes”; in any case, customers always paid on time, and the work was flawless.

Sam revered the Italian traditions of the community, always active on St. Alfio’s Committee and was past president of St. Michael’s Mutual Club. He had no problem being the center of attention – you’d often see Sammy up on stage calling out the winning car raffle tickets at the annual St. Michael’s Celebration. For holiday meals (or any meals), he loved to gather his huge extended family at his home, where he was always supervising the operation.

One day at the Dutch Inn Coffee shop, he nudged his friend, Gino, pointing out a pretty girl; Gino’s response was “That’s my daughter.” Sammy waited a little while before asking out Gina Cipollini; it led to a 35-year marriage blessed by two daughters, Christina Harris (Richard) and Andrea Sorli (Kevin); and a granddaughter; Gianna Marie Harris (Gianna is a miniature Bear “cub”). He is also survived by his sister, Lucy Ann Casella; his brother, John (Karen) Casella and their children, Nicholas and Sophia; and a large extended family. He was predeceased by his parents, Salvatore Jr. and Angelina.

Donations can be made to the family.

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