PRINCETON — Matthias D. Dileo, Esq., former managing partner of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. of Woodbridge, died May 22.
Born March 22, 1927 in Trenton, he resided in Lawrenceville, Loveladies, and was living in Princeton at the time of his death.
He served as president of the Middlesex County Bar from 1978 to 1979; president of the New Jersey State Bar from 1991 to 1992; and chairman of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation from 1992 to 1994, having received its Medal of Honor in 1988. He received the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award in 1999, and served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Finance Committee, a trustee of the New Jersey Supreme Courts Lawyers’ Assistance Program, a delegate to the American Bar Association in 1967 and a fellow of the American Bar Association.
He was predeceased by his parents, Daniel and Rachel Dileo of Trenton. Surviving are his loving wife Fame Poliziani Dileo; his daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Ralph Fretz of Freehold; two sons and daughters-in-law, David and Jennifer Dileo and Mark and Lisa Dileo all of Columbus; and three grandchildren, Emma and Matthias Fretz and Sofia Dileo. He is also survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Pasquale and Filomena Dileo of Hamilton; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Catherine and Salvatore Nalli of Lexington, Ky., and Mary and Joseph Lavery of Columbus; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Interment was at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery, 400 Woolsey St., Hamilton. The family asks for contributions, in lieu of flowers, to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, New Jersey Law Center, One Constitution Square, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 or contributions payable to the Matthias D. Dileo Scholarship Fund at the Villa Victoria Academy, 376 West Upper Ferry Road, Ewing, NJ 08628. Arrangements are under the direction of the Kimble Funeral Home, One Hamilton Ave., Princeton.