Obituary of Paul Primerano

Paul was born in his family's home on Copeland Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ to Joseph Primerano from Stefanaconi, Calabria and Rose DeLellis from Reggio Calabria. He was the eldest of three children, including his brother Frank and his sister Catherine. His father was a Mason and had his own construction business building homes and doing renovations. He has fond memories of spending time with his aunt and cousins all who lived in Lyndhurst or Nutley. He always talked about spending summer days packing sandwiches and driving hours on Route 1 to the shore with his family. Through his life he remained close with all his neighborhood friends. Paul excelled in school from an early age, especially in Math. In grammar school he was skipped a grade but always said he wasn't sure if it was the best thing because he was younger that all the girls in his class. He was a great athlete and wanted to play football in high school but knew he had to work to help his family, so after school he would go to the jelly works everyday while also working in his father's business. Anything he did he excelled in because his philosophy was whatever you did be the best even if you were collecting trash be the best you could be. At 18 he signed up for the Navy along with many of his Lyndhurst buddies and was so proud to be stationed on the USS FDR. She had just been commissioned and was one of the first carriers where jets would take off and land from the deck of the ship. He served two years in the Navy and would talk about watching the jets land and take off from the deck and if they miscalculated the narrow landing strip they would plunge off the deck and into the ocean. He was honorably discharged in 1946 receiving the Victory, American Theater and Asiatic-Pacific Medals. He became so intrigued with flying in his 20's he decided to get his pilot license. But when my Mom took a flight with him just before he was finished she felt it was too dangerous and he didn't get his license although he always talked about completing it. When he returned for the Navy he wanted to go to college but knew he had to go to work with his Dad. He loved his work and was proud of every home he built. He often drove around pointing out his homes which were easy to pick out because he would only build all brick. He was such a perfectionist he became known for his custom homes and in the 1960's Frankie Valli asked him to build a home for his mom in East Rutherford. Although the deal never went through we always talked about it and many of those who did purchase his homes became lifelong friends. Paul loved his hometown of Lyndhurst and would never consider living anywhere else. He sponsored many town Men's baseball teams and maintained close ties with many of the players. The teams won many trophies, which were proudly displayed in his living room. When his daughter Linda wanted to play softball he was a key player in starting the Lyndhurst Girls Softball League and sponsored a team for many years. He belonged to many local clubs including the Lions club Amvets and Sons of Italy. He loved eating at his favorite Lyndhurst Italian Restaurants, Angelo's and San Carlos. If it was a catered event it was at San Carlos and Jane, Joe, Flo and Tina were long time family friends. He would have dinner at Angelo's at least once a week going back to the 60's when it was located on Freeman Avenue. He and Angelo would joke together and Angelo would always join the table just so that they could rib each other. When he met Elsie Lux he knew he met the love of his life and together they built their home on Paul Place in Lyndhurst. They enjoyed their life together for over 40 years playing golf traveling and spending time with their family and friends. Together they had three children Linda, Roseann and Paul. His brother Frank married Elsie's sister Marylin and they had two children, Barbara and Joey. With two brothers marrying two sisters the families were inseparable and Paul was a father figure to all of them including his sisters son Joseph. When Elsie passed in 1994 at the early age of 67 Paul was devastated and never stopped talking about how much he missed her. After she passed he spent his time golfing and being a devoted grandfather to his grandchildren, attending all their activities and traveling with them on vacations. Paul was dedicated to his family and enjoyed nothing more than having everyone together. His home was the place for everyone to gather and neighbors became family. There was nothing that helped digest your food better than a heated discussion of politics or sports. His philosophy was work hard and play hard. He enjoyed boating and teaching anyone he could how to water ski and golf. He couldn't be happier than when his entire family was on the golf course with him and he never cared how many stokes you took. He was a loyal fan of all his children's sports: softball basketball and football and always supported them in everything the did. He started golfing in the 1960's and we always talked about the time he brought Lee Trevino over for a spaghetti dinner when he was golfing at a tournament in Montclair. They both had the same Cadillac and started talking and since Trevino was just starting his career he was relatively unknown at the time we were young and didn't know who he was but father was elated. he was an enthusiastic Yankee fan an often talked about taking his daughter Linda to a World Series in the 1950's. Paul was proud of his Italian heritage and loved everything Italian. whether it was listening to Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett or watching Vince Lombardi Dan Marino and Joe Montana or playing Bocce Ball. For his 80th birthday he took his entire family to Italy to visit his relatives in Calabria. The trip was a fabulous time for everyone and created memories no one will ever forget. Paul was a member of Colonia Country Club in the 60's-70's and then joined Glen Ridge Country Club where he met many friends. 10 years after the death of his wife he was fortunate to find the companionship of longtime friend Terry Willard and they spent 10 happy years together until she recently passed away. Paul is survived by his three loving children Linda Primerano, Roseann Primerano and Paul Primerano, his six grandchildren Alexandra, Paul, Luke and Sydney Primerano, Steven and Kelsie Tegrar his niece Barbara Primerano and nephew Joseph Primerano, his daughters-in-law Lora Primerano and Kyle Coleman and his son-in-law Steven Tegrar. He was predeceased by his wife, Elsie Primerano, brother Frank Primerano, sister Catherine Barbalaco, brother-in-law Otto "Sonny" Lux, sister-in-law, Marylin Primerano, and nephew Joseph Barbalaco. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Service on Tuesday June 3, 2014 at 11 AM in the Nazare Memorial Home Inc., 403 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst. Visiting hours Monday 3 - 8 Pm. Interment Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst. In Lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Lyndhurst police emergency squad, PO box 471, Lyndhurst NJ 07071.