Joseph Anito Silvestri

Joseph A. Silvestri, 86, of West Orange entered into eternal life on March 27, 2015. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral from Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home of Livingston, 145 E. Mount Pleasant Ave., Livingston, N.J., on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. The funeral mass will be offered at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1 Eagle Rock Ave., West Orange, N.J., at 11 a.m. Visitation will be on Monday, March 30, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Cremation will be private.

Born and raised in West Orange, Joe spent the first 35 years of his marriage to the late Alice (Dickman) Silvestri in the township, raising their six children and actively participating in community and church. He then returned to West Orange in the last years of his life.

Joe was a 1951 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.S. in Business Administration. He also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Joe had a distinguished 37-year career in the telecommunications industry, starting as a representative in a New York Telephone business office and retiring as a vice-president of sales for NYNEX (now Verizon) in 1988. Along the way, he held positions as Assistant Director of the Bell System exhibit at the 1965 World's Fair, Chief Rate Engineer for New York Telephone, Director of Rates and Billing for American Bell International in Tehran, Iran, and lead media spokesman for NYNEX Yellow Pages.

An outstanding athlete, Joe earned all-state honors as a member of the West Orange High School football team and was inducted into the West Orange High School Sports Hall of Fame. His great love and prowess for golf was also well-known. A charter member of Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, Joe maintained a handicap of 6 for a number of years. At age 74, he won the Fairmount Annual Father-Son Tournament with his son John, and he was Low Net at the West Orange Seniors Tournament in 2009. Joe also shared his passion for the game with others, serving as assistant coach of the Seton Hall University golf team that won the Big East Championship in 1992 and as a long-time member of the NJ State Golf Association’s Course Rating Committee until 2010. He also was General Chairman of the Chrysler-Plymouth LGPA tournament held at Fairmount Country Club in 1986.

Joe demonstrated a strong devotion to his faith and a serious commitment to sharing his time, talent and treasure with his church and community. He served for many years as a lector at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in West Orange, and was president of its Holy Name Society. Joe also was president of the West Essex Highlands Condominium Association in West Orange and a member of the Seton Hall University President’s Advisory Council. He served as general chairman of the United Fund Campaign for the Oranges and West Essex in 1964 and was foreman of an Essex County Superior Grand Jury in Newark during the summer of 1967. Joe also volunteered his time as a member of the boards of the West Orange Public Library, Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges, Telephone Pioneers of America and the local Boy Scout Council.

Joe was predeceased by his loving and exuberant wife Alice in 1996. He is survived by his devoted children: Ralph and his wife Melissa; Robert and his wife Mary; Clare and her husband Joe Krakoviak; Annette; Joseph and his wife Joan; and John and his wife Laura. He is also survived by his 16 loving grandchildren: John, Joseph Morahan, Stephen, Catherine, Thomas, Casey, Johanna, Elizabeth, Mark, Joseph Donald, Amanda, Carla, Alison, Paul Victor, Paul Christopher and Leah. He was also the beloved brother of Rosemary Perna of West Orange.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS Association or Seton Hall University.