Obituary of James Pasquale Meola

James P. Meola (Jimmy) peacefully passed into eternal life on October 16, 2020.  He was 86 years old.

Born in the 1930’s in Paterson, New Jersey, he was raised with four brothers and worked for the family business, P. Meola & Sons, and later for Barretti Carting Corp. Jimmy served in the United States Army, stateside, during the Korean War.  He met his wife, Anna Marie Zisa, at a CYO dance in 1955. She was the love of his life. Jim was an ambitious, hardworking individual, and he continued to embody these qualities his entire life while building a family. Together, they settled down in Pequannock, NJ and raised three children, but he was like a father to “All” the children of Slingerland Ave. 

Jimmy was always ready to lend a hand.  Whether it was a friend, family member or a complete stranger that needed help or that needed him, “No” was not in Jimmy’s vocabulary.

He volunteered his time to many organizations, including CYO, PAL, American Legion, UNICO; was an usher and Eucharistic Minister at Holy Spirit R.C. Church, and volunteered many countless hours in the schools and community where he lived and loved, just to name a few. 

Jimmy always found time for each of his children. He never missed a PAL game, High School Band performance, field hockey game or dance recital.  In his later years, he was able to be involved in his grandchildren’s activities. In his earlier years, he enjoyed playing softball with the Adamo Zebras, refereeing PAL football, cooking up home fries (“awesomes”) at the Statesman Grill, making frequent trips to ShopRite, making Sunday sauce (-- or is it gravy!) and watching football, tending his vegetable garden, and later making wine with his nephew, Joe (Jovee).  

He loved God, life, his family and talking about his strong Christian beliefs.  He shared his knowledge of all things with friends and family. He was very proud of his faith in God and loved passing on all of his traditions to his children. He was a boisterous storyteller. His infamous way to start a story or break out in song was to say, “And then I wrote…” Jimmy instilled strong family values and was larger than life itself.  He always commanded a room and loved lending a helping hand to all; he was "that guy" for everything.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Anna Marie; son James and wife Ann; daughter Michele and husband Joseph Princiotta; and daughter Jennifer Meola; his grandchildren who knew him as “Bebop”, Jonathan and wife Rennie; Alanna Marie; Morgan; Katelyn; Jordan; Joseph; and Galadriel; brother Alec and wife Joy; John and wife Anita; Nicholas; and is pre-deceased by his brother, Joseph.

Jimmy loved the simple things in life.  He was one of a kind and will forever be missed by all that loved him. He will live forever in our hearts. See you later, Dad.

A Memorial Mass will be held on November 21, 2020 at Holy Spirit R. C. Church, 318 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pequannock, NJ at 11 AM.