In Memory of
Donald Anthony Serpico
November 7,
2022
Obituary
Donald Anthony
Serpico
Army
Veteran, PAPD Lieutenant, Piscataway Family Man Donald
Anthony Serpico, 84, of Piscataway, NJ, passed away
peacefully on Monday, November 7, 2022 at Robert Wood
Johnson University Hospital – New Brunswick.
Born and raised in
Jersey City to Dominic and Marion (nee Lynch) Serpico,
Donald attended PS 24 and graduated from Lincoln High
School in 1956. In February of 1965, he married Margaret
Ann "Maggie" Hedges. The couple met on a TWA
Constellation Plane, he, a passenger flying to Los
Angeles, and she, a TWA Airline Hostess.
After marriage the
two settled in Piscataway where they lived for 56 years.
After working for the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, Donald
served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1959.
While serving in the Border Patrol along the US – USSR
Border in Germany with the 3rd Battalion 14th Armored
Cavalry, he played Baseball and Football on Army teams.
Donald joined the Port Authority of NY and NJ Police
force in 1959, working at all ports, tunnels, bridges,
and airports. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1971 after
earning an AA Degree in Criminal Justice from Rutgers
University. He was again promoted to Lieutenant in 1975
after receiving a BS Degree in Business Management from
Rutgers in the same year. Donald went on to complete
course work for a Master's Degree in Labor Studies at
Rutgers, before retiring from the Port Authority in
1995.
He also spent many
years at Newark Airport serving as a Dignitary
Protection Liaison. An avid Rutgers Football and
Basketball fan, Donald held season tickets for decades
and often traveled to away Football games, through good
seasons and bad. Similarly, he was a loyal supporter of
the Dodgers, despite their move to Los Angeles. Donald
also played many rounds of golf on the Rutgers golf
course. Donald and Maggie traveled extensively from the
90's until the Pandemic, visiting some 36 Caribbean
Islands, 28 European Countries, and enjoying 31 Ocean
and River Cruises. They visited Donald's favorite
destination, Italy, 18 times.
Donald is survived by
his wife Maggie; son, Daniel Scott and his wife
Stephanie Serpico of Bend, Oregon; daughter Anne
Catherine and her husband John Paul Greenbaun of Redondo
Beach, CA; three grandchildren, Cole Thomas, Riley Kate,
and Siena Marie; Sister and brother-in-law, Sheila and
Peter Marchetta; and two brothers and their wives,
Michael and Susan Serpico and Robert and Jeannie Serpico.
He also leaves behind 9 nieces and nephews, many
grandnieces and nephews as well as a host of extended
relatives and friends.
A visitation will be
held at the Piscataway Funeral home, 18 Stelton Road,
Piscataway, NJ, on Friday, November 11, 2022 from 2 pm
to 4 pm and from 6 pm to 8 pm. A Funeral Mass will be
held at Our Lady of Fatima RC Church, 501 New Market Rd,
Piscataway, NJ, on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at
11:30am.
Family and friends
may gather at the Funeral Home beginning at 10:30 am.
Entombment will follow at Resurrection Burial Park, 899
E Lincoln Ave, Piscataway, NJ. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to Fish Inc. – Dunellen Area, P.O.
Box 8565 Piscataway, NJ 08854, in Donald's name.
Piscataway Funeral Home 18 Stelton Rd. Piscataway NJ
08854 (732) 968-2828
Published by The Star-Ledger from
Nov. 9 to Nov. 10, 2022
Piscataway Funeral Home
18 Stelton Rd.
Piscataway, NJ 08854
(732) 968-2828