FRANCES A. TANSKI PODLESNY, 91, of Sayreville died May 1 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. Her husband, Chester S. Podlesny, died in 1983; a son, Chester Podlesny, died in 1994; another son, Joseph Podlesny, died in 1993; and two grandsons, Kevin and David Podlesny, died in 1981. Surviving are a daughter-in-law, Betty Podlesny of Sayreville; a brother, Steve Tanski of Keyport; a sister, Stella Zablocki of Keyport; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. A Mass was offered at Our Lady of Victories Church, Sayreville. Interment was in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Sayreville.
JUDY D. LaPORTE, 59, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., formerly of Hazlet and the Toms River section of Dover, died April 29 in Overlook Hospital, Summit. Surviving are her mother, Eva Viscusi Rever of Toms River; her husband, Ralph L. LaPorte of Dingmans Ferry; a daughter, Robin Jill Planko of Freehold; two sons, Glenn Michael LaPorte of Old Bridge and Matthew John LaPorte of Keyport; two sisters, Sandy Kropkowski of Maryland and Terri Norris of Virginia; and four grandchildren. A Mass was offered at St. Joseph’s Church, Keyport. Entombment was in the church mausoleum.
CHARLES E. NOVAK SR., 66, of Metuchen died May 3 in JFK Medical Center, Edison. He was predeceased by his first wife, Frances F. Lange Novak, and by his second wife, Ida G. Brown Novak. Surviving are two sons, Charles E. Novak Jr. of the Parlin section of Sayreville and Michael Novak of Metuchen; a daughter, Frances D. Beardsley of South Bend, Ind.; a sister, Ethel Ognewchuk of Perth Amboy; and two brothers, Steve Novak of Perth Amboy and Joseph Novak of North Carolina; and six grandchildren. Services were held at Carmen F. Spezzi Funeral Home, Parlin. Interment was in Christ Church Cemetery, South Amboy.
EDWARD GLOWATSKY, 77, of East Brunswick died April 27 in Richmond, Va. He was predeceased by his wife, Toby Fisch Glowatsky. Prior to his retirement in 1992, he worked as a psychologist in the Old Bridge Township school system for more than 30 years. Surviving are a son, Andrew of Midlothian, Va.; a daughter, Loren Kushner of Sturbridge, Mass.; five granddaughters; and many cousins, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. Services were held in Queens, N.Y.
LEONORA ANNA KNOX, 78, of Matawan, formerly of Spotswood and South Brunswick, died May 3 in Madison Center, Matawan. Her husband, Peter B. Knox, died in 1969. Surviving are a daughter, Leonora Dey of Matawan; three sons, Luke J. Knox of Spotswood, Peter Knox Jr. of Edison and James E. Knox of North Brunswick; six sisters, Althea Pearce of the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen, Dorothy Schwartz of Dunellen, Fla., Marjorie Koon of the Jacobstown section of North Hanover, Marlene Jegou of Milltown, Marilyn Hall of the Whitehouse Station section of Readington and Wilma Tallman of Syracuse, N.Y.; nine grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Interment was in Fresh Ponds Chapel Cemetery, South Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, 123 How Lane, New Brunswick 08901.
ABRAHAM "ABE" MAROZINE, 79, of Monroe, formerly of South River and Sayreville, died April 30 in Old Bridge Manor. His wife, Marie, died in 1998. Surviving are three daughters, Noreen Ballon of South River, Colleen Acs of Monroe and Toni Ann Burns of New Brunswick; a sister, Mary Certo of East Brunswick; a foster son, Kevin Sullivan of Sayreville; and two grandchildren. A Mass was offered at Our Lady of Victories Church, Sayreville. Interment was in New Calvary Cemetery, Parlin section of Sayreville. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Stroke Victims Association, 9707 Easter Lane, Englewood, CO 80112-3747.
LAWRENCE SAMUEL FISCHER, 75, of Old Bridge died April 29 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. Prior to his retirement in 1982, he was a lieutenant with the New Jersey State Police, where he worked for 30 years. Surviving are a son, Patrick Fischer of Old Bridge; a daughter, Staci F. Laico of St. Petersburg, Fla.; two brothers, Robert Fischer of Old Bridge and Frank Fischer of Hallstead, Pa.; three sisters, Stella Gartarz of East Brunswick, Frances Edly of North Brunswick and Helen Scott of Smyrna, Ga.; and a granddaughter. Services were held at Rezem Funeral Home, East Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to the Suncoast Center for Community Mental Health, 4024 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33711.
LEON WIECZOREK, 75, of Old Bridge died May 3 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. He was predeceased by his first wife, Mary Burdynski Wieczorek, and by a great-grandson, Martin Wieczorek III. Surviving are his wife, Ingrid Fuchs Wieczorek; two sons, Martin Wieczorek and Leon Wieczorek Jr., both of Old Bridge; a daughter, Marylee Condren of Lakewood; three stepchildren, Phyllis Riggleman of Ewing, Petra Leonard of Tinton Falls and Peter Hahnke of North Brunswick; two sisters, Theresa Judson of South River and Lillian Spina of South Amboy; a brother, Charles Wieczorek of South River; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and five step-grandchildren. A Mass was offered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Old Bridge. Interment was in St. Mary’s Cemetery, East Brunswick.
JUDITH A. WITKOWSKI SCHMIDT, 49, of South River died May 1 in Sunrise Hospital, Las Vegas, Nev. Surviving are her husband, Andrew Schmidt Jr.; two daughters, Leigh Anne of Sayreville and Dana of South River; her mother, Edna Witkowski of South River; two brothers, James Witkowski and Leon "Hutch" Witkowski, both of South River; her mother-in-law, Elsie Schmidt of South River; a brother-in-law, Kurt Schmidt of Old Bridge; a sister-in-law, Lisa Gerstacker of Pennington; and several nieces and nephews. A Mass was offered at Corpus Christi Church, South River. Interment was in Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick.
SOPHIE BARANEK SEPCSIK, 90, of South Amboy died May 1 in Bayshore Hospital, Holmdel. Prior to her retirement, she was employed by the Mary Jane Coat Co., South River, and by many other sewing factories in South River. Her husband, Lawrence Sepcsik, died in 1991. Surviving are a son, Edward Erickson of South Amboy, and a sister, Laura Barse of Sayreville. Services were held at Gundrum Service Home for Funerals, South Amboy. Cremation was private.
THOMAS J. STRUGALA, 55, of Sayreville died May 5 in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick. Surviving are his parents, Joseph and Jean Szawaryn Strugala of Sayreville; a brother, Robert J. Strugala of the West Freehold section of Freehold Township; and a cousin, Dorothy Edwards of South River. Services were held at Maliszewski Memorial Home, Sayreville. Cremation was private.
SELMA POPICK BLUMENTHAL, 75, of Monroe died April 28 at home. Surviving are her husband, Arthur; two daughters, Nancy Engel of Monroe and Donna Benson of Scottsdale, Ariz.; a brother, Gerald Popick of Allentown, Pa.; and two grandchildren. Services were held at Mount Sinai Memorial Chapels, East Brunswick. Interment was in Floral Park Cemetery, South Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Hospice, 208 Bunn Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540; The American Cancer Society, 846 Main St., Fords, NJ 08863; or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY.
RONALD H. KALMAN, 58, of Monroe died April 30 at home. He was a member of Ars Nova, Milltown, and the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra. He played with the Magnolia Roads Bluegrass Band and was recently active with the Imperial Music Association, South River. Surviving are his wife, Judy Cohn Kalman; two sons, Seth of Leonia and Daniel of Westminster, Colo.; a sister, Jewel Kraham of Edison; and several nieces and nephews. Services were held at M. David DeMarco Funeral Home, Monroe. Interment was in Floral Park Cemetery, South Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to the VNA of Central Jersey Hospice, 141 Bodman Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701.
DOROTHY J. CASEY KIRK, 74, of East Brunswick died May 2 in St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick. Prior to her retirement in 1995, she was an administrative assistant with the East Brunswick Public Library for 23 years. Her husband, James E., died in 1997, and a son, Kevin, died in 2002. Surviving are a son, James of East Brunswick; four daughters, Missy Turcotte and Robin Kirk, both of East Brunswick, Kim Ballack of Monroe and Patricia Kirk Parascandolo of Milltown; a brother, James Casey of East Brunswick; a sister, Catherine Hogrefe of North Carolina; and five grandchildren. A Mass was offered at St. Bartholomew’s Church, East Brunswick. Entombment was in Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick.
STACIA ARCISZEWSKI LANDERS, 82, of South River died May 4 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. She was predeceased by her first husband, Casmir Kalafor. Surviving are her husband, Gurney Landers; a son, Kenneth Kalafor of South River; a sister, Matilda Apel of South River; and many nieces and nephews. A Mass was offered at St. Mary of Ostrabrama Church, South River. Interment was in St. Mary’s Cemetery, East Brunswick.
WILLIAM C. NASON, 75, of Spotswood died May 2 at home. He was predeceased by his wife, Virginia, and by two sons, Robert and William C. Nason Jr. Surviving are two sons, John Nason of South River and Len Nason of Spotswood; two daughters, Barbara Nason-Kokoska of Spotswood and Brenda Nason of California; a sister, Alvina Clifford of Ohio; and four grandchildren. Services were held at Eckman Funeral Home, Spotswood.
NICHOLAS CAPOROSSI, 74, of East Brunswick died April 28 in St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick. Surviving are his wife, Sophie Cozzolino Caporossi; three sons, Paul Caporossi of Herndon, Va., James Caporossi of Highland Park and Nicholas Caporossi of South Brunswick; a daughter, Annemarie Bartlett of Troy, Mich.; a brother, Andrew Caporossi of Queens, N.Y.; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 1 St. Thomas Plaza, Old Bridge, NJ 08857, or to the Leukemia Foundation. A Mass was offered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Old Bridge. Interment was in St. Peter’s Cemetery, New Brunswick.
KATHLEEN VESCO, 68, of East Brunswick died May 1 in Jacob Perlow Hospice, New York City. She was predeceased by her husband, Ralph Vesco, and by a son, Richard Cole. Surviving are three daughters, Kristi Sacktig of East Brunswick, Joann Hogenhout of Holland and Toniann Vesco of Brooklyn, N.Y.; two sons, Ralph Cole of Sarasota, Fla., and Charles Cole of Cairo, N.Y.; 11 grandchildren; and a great-grandson. A Mass was offered at St. Bartholomew’s Church, East Brunswick. Interment was in Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island, N.Y. Memorial contributions may be made to the East Brunswick Senior Center.