Tom Cifelli
January 01, 1915 - June 15, 2013
Obituary
Palmerio "Tom" Cifelli World War II Navy Veteran Palmerio passed away peacefully at Mountainside Hospital on Saturday, June 15, 2013. Palmerio, known as "Tom", was a Navy vet who served as a Boatswain's Mate 1st Class aboard the light cruiser "Duluth" in the Pacific Theater of Operations under the command of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey. A proud union man and a lifetime member of UPAT, Tom was a retiree of the Newark Housing Authority where he had been employed for 25 years. He is survived by his loving wife Rosalie, nee: Schlesinger, and his two beloved children; son, Daniel Jack Cifelli of Walnut Creek, CA, and daughter Diane Cifelli of Clifton, NJ, and cherished granddaughter Alexandra Baker Cifelli of Oceanside, CA.Visitation will be at Frank Halpin's Brookdale Funeral Home, 1284 Broad Street, Bloomfield on Tuesday June 18th from 2-4 & 7-9 pm, with a brief service at 7:30 pm. Relatives, friends, and neighbors are invited to the family home on Sunday, June 23rd for a celebration of Tom's life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bloomfield Volunteer Emergency Squad, (www.bves.org) Please leave condolence messages at: www.halpinfh.com Other NJ Visitation Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 02:00 pm - 04:00 pm Halpin Bitecola Brookdale Funeral & Cremation Service LLC 1284 Broad St, Bloomfield NJ 07003 Visitation Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 07:00 pm - 09:00 pm Halpin Bitecola Brookdale Funeral & Cremation Service LLC 1284 Broad St, Bloomfield NJ 07003 Other Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 07:30 pm Halpin Bitecola Brookdale Funeral & Cremation Service LLC 1284 Broad St, Bloomfield NJ 07003
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Memories
DC
Dan Cifelli
Other •
After he retired, he enjoyed playing with mom, and me and Alex when we were visiting. My mom was a better cribbage player than he was. However, when we played teams and they were on opposite teams, mom was always looking at him because she seemed to know that somehow he would get the better of her with some sneaky play.
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Dan Cifelli
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Dad was in the Navy during WWII. He was honorably discharged after the war at Treasure Island near San Francisco. My first job after college was working for the Navy near Treasure Island. When Mom and Dad came to visit me in the 1980s, I drove them onto Treasure Island. Dad said with a big smile "I wouldn't have ever thought that 40 years later I would be back on Treasure Island with my wife and son."
DC
Dan Cifelli
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Dad always liked boxing and managed one of our cousins who was a middleweight boxer. Maybe you saw the photo of Dad in his boxing pose on this web site? After he retired, he and I drove to Atlantic City to see a championship fight and had a great time. It was one of the best moments we ever had together.
DC
Dan Cifelli
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The year before I graduated college, he and mom decided to buy me a car as a graduation present. There was a car I wanted but I had no idea how to negotiate buying the car. He went with me, got the car I wanted, and at a significant discount. I was thrilled and caught by surprise with his ability to do something like this.
DC
Dan Cifelli
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Dad was driving me and 2 of my friends home from junior high school. He usually was very quiet and drove safely. Out of nowhere he hit the accelerator, the car lunged forward as he swerved around, passed the double white line in the center to pass a few cars. He shot a glance at me and laughed. My friends and I looked at each other with big smiles. Neither of my friends knew their own fathers and I think they appreciated how "cool" it was to have someone like Dad around.
DC
Dan Cifelli
Other •
He was a simple man who loved his family and was devoted to us. Physically strong, hard working, quietly loving, very humble, sweetsome of his values were shaped early in life. He was the youngest of 12 children, of which only he and 3 other siblings survived past infancy. Between mom and him, my sister Diane and I inherited some good genes.<br>His parents died when he was young and he was shuffled around to live with his sisters and brother. A stable family meant a lot to him.