Teodor Rino Viducic

Teodor “Rino” Viducic of Emerson passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, but, thankfully, peacefully the morning of Friday, May 19th while having breakfast with his beloved wife of nearly 57 years, Anka. Rino was a devoted father to his son, Anthony, and his beautiful daughter, Michelle, who predeceased Rino by 19 years. He was a devoted brother to his surviving brothers, Mario and Bruno, and his deceased brother, Vlado. He was an incredibly loving grandfather to his beautiful granddaughter, Katarina, and an adoring father-in-law to Anna, whom he saw more as a daughter than a daughter-in-law.

In life people often confuse fake heroes with real heroes. Society today seems to look afar in their search for heroes. Admiring athletes, entertainers, and celebrities is fine – as we all need to be entertained and to laugh – but holding out complete strangers as heroes to me just does not make sense when all the heroes I ever needed were right in front of me: My dad, my mom, and certainly my sister. They all had a tremendous and infinite influence on me.

My dad worked two jobs. He was a commercial painter for over 30 years painting just about every building in Manhattan during that time: The World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, Herald Square Mall – even some bridges along the way. At times he even worked overnights for days-on-end to make sure a project was done. On the weekends, he and a friend would take on painting jobs all over New Jersey. Most weeks out of the year, my dad worked 7 days, rarely taking a day off. Why? Because he wanted to make sure I had a future and that my mom could stay home and tend to my special needs sister. I don’t know where I would be today without my dad. He was my hero.

He had a work ethic that was second to none. I remember working with him one summer as a 16-year-old. He worked me so hard. One time he made me carry two five-gallon buckets completely full with spackle up the stairs from the ground floor to the mezzanine level of the building we were painting on Wall Street. I asked why couldn’t I take the service elevator with the other painters. He just said, “NO!”. I just couldn’t figure out why he was so much tougher on me than on the other painters that he was managing as lead foreman. I can still recall one of the other painters working with us asking me if I could get my “pop” to take it easy on them a bit. That they just can’t keep up his pace. My response was, “hey, at the end of the day, you get to go home and relax, I have to go home and mow the lawn” 😊 I asked my mom some time later why he was so tough on me. She said that he wanted to make sure I would go to college and not choose the path he “had” to take. I was speechless and my heart swelled with love. He was my hero.

Whenever anyone – friend or family – needed a favor, Rino always said “yes”. Whenever someone needed a room or an entire house painted, Rino always said “yes” and always free of charge. He loved helping his friends and especially his family in any way that he could. Not only was he a great painter, but he could fix anything. He never had much of a formal education, but he could talk politics, history, geography, sports and, certainly, about his beloved Croatia, with the best of them. He knew the score of every NY Islander game, every NY Yankees game, and the score of his beloved soccer team, Hajduk Split. He never missed a Croatia World Cup game. He was my hero.

My dad loved laughing and making jokes with his friends but also with mine. I am very lucky not only for the beautiful family I was born into and the one I have today but for all of my great friends. He loved picking on all of my buddies over the years and I think they all got a kick out of it and enjoyed laughing with him and hearing his funny stories…. with some of it, at times, lost in translation, but that made it that more special. Just to name a few of the buddies my dad loved…… Kris, Divivo, Greg, Jim, Lou, Adam and Allen…. There are others, so forgive me…. He was my hero.

After battling and beating prostate cancer in the mid ‘90s, he felt life was too short and decided to retire; so that he could spend more time with his family rather than working 7 days a week. Around that time my sister Michelle’s health started to deteriorate, and he learned to do things some nurses could not even do. With my mom, he learned to clean my sister’s feeding tube, clean her tracheotomy tube so she could receive the oxygen she needed. Many a night he stayed up around the clock watching over my sister. Without him and my mom, her life would have been much shorter. He was my hero.

My father taught me how to be independent, a good husband, and a good father. He also taught me how to be a good son. I hope he feels the same. Since my parents moved back to Bergen County three years ago, he and I even started brewing beer together in his garage. Just 5 days before his passing, we bottled our last brew that will be ready for Memorial Day. The plan was to toast the holiday with our West Coast IPA. He may not be able to have one with me, but I will now toast my great dad with one in memory of him.... He was my hero.

His influence and life lessons will continue with me for the rest of my life. I don’t know where I would be today without him being in my life. He was, he is, and he always will be my hero! May you rest in peace, my dear tata (“father”). I hope Michelle is next to you and that your best friend, my uncle Darko, is not too far. Please keep watch over us and guide us, like you’ve been doing for so long. Volim te bez kraja moj dragi tata (“I love you to no end, my dear dad”).

Your son, Anthony,

Your beloved wife, Anka,

Your proud granddaughter, Katarina, and

Your adoring daughter-in-law, Anna.

For those who know Rino and would like to pay respects to my dear dad, please see the following information:

Becker Funeral Home

219 Kinderkamack Rd

Westwood, NJ 07675

becker-funeralhome.com

Visitation, Tuesday, May 23rd: 2pm - 4pm and 7pm to 9 pm.

The Funeral Service will start at 9am on Wednesday, May 24th, from the funeral home, followed by a church service at 10:00 am:

Assumption Roman Catholic Church

29 Jefferson Ave, Emerson, NJ 07630

The burial will follow the church service and will be at:

Garden of Memories Mausoleum

300 Soldier Hill Road

Twp. of Washington, NJ 07676