The visitation will be held on Monday, May 21, 2018, from 4-8 pm at the LaMonica Memorial Home, 145 E. Mt. Pleasant Ave in Livingston. The Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 10 am in St. Philomena’s Church, 386 S. Livingston Ave in Livingston followed by the interment in Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield.
He was the beloved husband of the late Josephine (nee Scavone); loving father of Sherry Viso (husband Julio) and Joe Primamore (wife Aurora); cherished grandfather (“PopPop”) of Natalia Viso, Anjelica Viso, Nicholas Primamore and Joanna Primamore; and dear brother of the late Alfonso and Richard Primamore.
Born in Newark to the late Mildred (nee Zarro) and Rocco Primamore, Jerry had many fond memories of growing up on Garside Street, attending Franklin Grammar School, and then ultimately Central High School. He played baseball (3rd base) and football (fullback) throughout high school and later played football in an advanced league for the city of Newark. He had an opportunity to play college ball at Penn State, but instead needed to go to work to support his mother after his father passed away from shrapnel injuries sustained in World War I.
Jerry’s first job was working in a toy factory (Sam L. Gabriel & Sons Toys) for about 10 years after high school. He then went on to work in construction as a Glazier for Newark Glass Company, and was a proud member and business representative of the Glaziers and Painters Local 1095 in Bloomfield. After retiring in 1992, Jerry took pride in going for rides and pointing out all the buildings that he “put that glass in…”.
After Jerry married Josephine, they lived in more houses and apartments throughout the early years of their marriage than we could keep track of (about
9). The towns included Newark, Clifton, Belleville, Irvington, and Lake Hiawatha before finally settling down in Bloomfield. After Josephine’s passing, Jerry then moved in with Sherry in Kearny for about 25 years until most recently moving to Warren 6 about months ago.
Jerry loved Bloomfield sports and even after moving out of Bloomfield, stayed dedicated to the “Bengals” all of his life. He could always be found at football games in the Foley Field bleachers, basketball games in the Bloomfield High School gymnasium, softball games in Pulaski Park, or coaching Bloomfield Southern Little League at Felton (“Floyd”) Field. Even after his son aged out of the league, Jerry continued coaching for many years simply for the love of the game and the kids. As one of the Bengal’s biggest supporters, Jerry was also a member of the “Super Fan” and “5th Quarter” Clubs in Bloomfield.
Jerry was also a history buff, who looked forward to taking road trips though the historic towns of Pennsylvania such as Gettysburg and Lancaster. We think this is where his granddaughter Joanna gets her love of reading and history from, aspiring to be a future history teacher.
Behind Jerry’s husky exterior was a very mild mannered family man that enjoyed the simple pleasures in retirement…going out to dinner with his grandkids, watching them play sports, reading the paper from cover to cover, and taking yearly trips down to Cape May with his kids, grandkids, and family friends (but never actually made it on the beach…). He wasn’t fond of plane trips, but loved going to Disney every few years (even though every trips was his “last” one…).
Jerry always tried to make people laugh, and brought a smile to his grandkids faces whenever he was around. In the last few years when PopPop started having mobility issues, instead of complaining, he’d turn it into a source of amusement for the grandkids by joking about the leg that “just doesn’t want to work” (even though he swears it’s our “slanted” floors that was causing him to lose his balance), taking them for scooter rides on his lap, and teaching them the “PopPop shuffle” with his cane.
For all these reasons and many more, we’re gonna miss you Pops... Thanks for all the memories you’ve given us, as they are worth more than any material things money could buy.
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