Dr. John T. Marelli

When I was young, the New Jersey ( Newark ) Star Ledger's obituary section was where you'd find information about anyone who had passed away. Now that newspapers are basically electronic, this process is a bit different. In a strange turn of events, I learned that it is $118 to submit an obituary to the Newark Star Ledger and include 2 photos. I don't know why a small electronic submission would cost this much, but so long as it reaches my dad's friends, that's really all that matters. You can click this to read it on The Star Ledger's website: HERE. 

The short post for the Star Ledger is below: 

Dr. John T. Marelli originally of East Orange, NJ, who spent most of his professional life living in Florham Park, NJ is survived by his children Adam and Liesl as well as his brothers Joe and Mario. He was the proud grandfather of Sofia and Chella whom he loved visiting in Florida. John worked passionately as a Chiropractor in Florham Park. He loved singing four-part harmony with his fellow barbershop enthusiasts and was always humming or singing a tune. He was never without his camera and took photos of everyone and everything. He loved playing tennis and disc golf as well as riding his motorcycle. He loved doing woodwork and would create unique gifts for everyone. He was a proud American patriot and served in the US Army during the Vietnam era. He was exceptionally proud of his daughter's military service who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom also with the US Army.  He was very proud of his time with Rotary and loved volunteering as a doctor in the South Pacific in Micronesia. 

Allow me to elaborate more here:

My dad was the proudest of parents. He loved being a father. Before my mother, he was married to a woman who didn't want to have children (as he told me) so they divorced and he ultimately fell in love with my mom and had two children: my brother and me. One boy. One girl. One dog. Random cats at times ... it was a simple and a good life. He worked as a Chiropractor in Florham Park ( Morris County, New Jersey ) for the entirety of his professional work life. He did end up having a practice in Madison for a bit and never lost his passion for Chiropractic care even though he never had the patience for dealing with insurance companies. 

Around town, he was simply known as "Doc" or "Doctor Marelli"
You'd hear it shouted by anyone who recognized him when he entered a store, crossed a lot or whatever ... Everyone was always greeting him with love.  Everyone knew my dad. Everyone chatted with him. We could never just run into a store and not stop to chat with someone. 

A few things I know about my dad prior to my existence: He attended Woodstock. He went to college in the Midwest. Chiropractic school in New York and would commute to Long Island with fellow NJ classmates, especially Terry Levine of Livingston. He had two brothers: Joe (who lived down the shore) and Mario (who moved to Italy). 

He grew up in East Orange and graduated from East Orange High School. He served in the Army during the Vietnam era but didn't deploy to Vietnam (I'm glad about that). 

He loved singing. He was always singing. He sang four-part harmony with his fellow barbershop enthusiasts. I actually flew to California with him when I was about 15 years old to Anaheim for a singing competition. 

He did woodwork for fun and had so many wood working tools that looked ancient but he loved them deeply. He made cutting boards, bowls and vases for me and my daughters. He made such beautiful gifts for anyone who asked and anyone who didn't ask. LOL

He was a proud Italian-American. He loved his parents and his family. He loved my daughters. He loved being a grandpa. He called me "my LB" and I loved that. 

He loved riding his motorcycle. He loved playing tennis. He loved disc golf. He was a history buff. He had an extensive vocabulary. He loved food and cooking.  He loved music. He loved doowop so very much. 

He loved telling jokes and hearing jokes. He was fun to be around. He laughed a lot. He always wore a gold chain and a gold medallion. He was never without this necklace - for my entire life, he always had it on until this big stroke. 

Anyway, I wanted a place for this information to exist among the endless web of information available for the world. I hope anyone who knew him is aware of his passing. I know none of us get out of this world alive so, this is simply a part of life. 

from an email my dad sent the other year to me and the girls. xoxo