Joseph James Lorello

Joseph James Lorello, age 79 of Manalapan, died on Thursday in Care One at Wall Nursing Home in Wall. He was born in Jersey City and had resided in Perth Amboy from 1959-1986 and in Manalapan from 1986-2008.

Joe was an Insurance Agent for Metropolitan Life of New Jersey for 25 years, retiring in 1994. For the next 10 years he worked for the Sports and Exposition Authority in the Meadowlands.

He was a veteran of the US Army serving from 1951-1953 in the Korea Conflict as a Cryptographer, coding and decoding messages. He graduated from Southeastern Signal School in Camp Gordon, GA, in 1952 and Seton Hall University in 1956 with a degree in Business. Joe always had one passion – Sports. He started coaching various sports activities, such as CYO basketball and high school basketball at St. Mary’s in Perth Amboy and South Amboy, founded the Youth Organization at Holy Rosary Church, and also became a State Certified High School Official in 3 sports, baseball, basketball and soccer. He was on the Board of Trustees at Covered Bridge, a feature writer for their newspaper and enjoyed being an entertainer, doing song and dance routines.

He was predeceased by his wives, Edie Dragotti Lorello who died in 1987 and Rhoda Levine Lorello who died in 2003.

Surviving are his son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Loretta Lorello of Piscataway, NJ, his daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and John Bollinger of Little Silver, NJ, his 4 grandchildren, Sean, Christopher, Anna and Drew, his sister, Gemma Diomede of Connecticut and many nieces and nephews.