Leo John Remo, 78, beloved father and brother, died on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 at his home in Roselle, where he lived for the past 32 years.
Leo was born on Jan. 7, 1944 in Elizabeth to Concetta and Nicholas Remo, tenacious Italian immigrants. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Elizabeth in 1961, earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Rutgers in 1966, and his M.B.A. in Management Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1971.
Leo also earned his private pilot’s license in 1977, just like he told all his high school classmates he would. He thought he might become a commercial pilot, but instead began a career in purchasing, a field perfect for a man who was masterful at not wasting money.
Leo saved thousands for several companies over his distinguished career as a purchasing manager, including at Simon & Schuster, Singer, Mattel, Mepco/Electra Inc., Thomas & Betts Corp., Thermwell Products, Ewal Manufacturing Co., United Retail Inc., Venator Group Inc. (F.W. Woolworth) and Asco Power. He taught others how to save money, too, instructing a Materials Management certification program at Bloomfield College in the 80s.
Leo is survived by his daughter, Jessica Remo of North Plainfield, who he taught how to fish, how to deal with morons and to love Elvis, George Carlin and the T.V. show Columbo. When she was a child, he filled her Sundays with ice-skating lessons, trips to the Bronx Zoo and many hours at the now-gone Bowcraft amusement park, mostly spent beating her mercilessly on the mini-golf course. He also took her on vacations to Washington, D.C. and several times to Wildwood, where he joined her on the waterslides instead of sitting with the other dads.
Leo was a man of many hobbies, including fly-fishing (and fly-tying) and especially building and flying model airplanes, most recently with the Somerset RC Club in Bridgewater. He once owned a boat, the Nauti’Lass, which he would forever regret selling. He was a man of simple pleasures: plain pizza, Country Time lemonade, red grapes, Devil Dogs and Swiss Miss cocoa.
Leo could fix anything and always chose that route over buying new. His legendary frugality also meant he never, ever had cable television and instead watched the goddamn Jets on his ancient tube TV, purchased well before the birth of his now 37-year-old daughter. His mind was blown when said daughter bought him a flatscreen and added him to her Netflix account, and he quickly made up for lost time consuming every country western, mystery and cop drama offered on the platform.
Leo was cantankerous and happy to fight with anyone — cashiers, waitstaff, telemarketers, doctors and nurses — and he usually won. He swore even until his death that a honeydew melon was a cantaloupe and vice versa, and no amount of Googling could convince him otherwise. He was funny, smart, stubborn and fiercely independent, choosing to live alone and on his own terms even while struggling with COPD and other medical conditions over the past four years. When he wasn’t arguing with someone, he was bragging to them about his daughter, who loved him dearly and will miss him very much.
Leo is also survived by his brother, Nicholas Remo of Lakewood; his sister, Edith Presler of Toms River; and several nieces and nephews.
All are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Leonard Lee Funeral Home, 301 E. Blancke St. in Linden. A lunch (& dessert of Devil Dogs) will follow at Triestina Restaurant, 515 Centennial Ave. in Cranford.
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