Zurino (‘Zeke’) Paolo Collodel

Zurino (“Zeke”) Paolo Collodel of Vernon Township, N.J., passed away peacefully at Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon Township, N.J., on Friday, April 30, 2021. He was 92.

Born to Peter and Santina Collodel in Paterson, N.J,. he had lived in Haskell, N.J., before moving to Vernon Township 53 years ago.

Zeke served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and then worked as an aeronautics engineer for Kearfott Navigation and Guidance in Little Falls, N.J., for 42 years, retiring in 1994.

Zeke was an active parishioner of St. Francis deSales Roman Catholic Church in Vernon and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed fishing, shooting, woodworking and most of all volunteering for any work to help others.

Zeke was predeceased by his wife, Margaret Collodel; son, Mark Collodel, a daughter, Pamela Henry; grandchildren, Katelyn and Mark; and sister, Ermalinda Schweighardt.

He is the devoted father of Donna Avila and her husband, Richard, of Moreno Valley, Calif., Michele Stevens and her husband, Charles, of New Providence, Pa., Norine Collodel of Quarryville, Pa., and Michael Collodel and his wife, Donna, of Easton, Maine. He is cherished by 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Private cremation services are under the direction of Ferguson-Vernon Funeral Home, Vernon. Interment of cremains at Glenwood Cemetery will be scheduled for a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Avenue, Newton, NJ.