Edward James Muriano

The scent of a cigar…

“Saturday’s with Sinatra” on the car radio...

Early morning wakeups when it was still dark outside for fishing trips…

Being bundled up in snowsuits, liberated from the refrigerated warehouses he managed, to attend football games in sub-freezing temperatures…

And the sun… a possibly unrivaled love for sitting in the sun… 

These are a handful of memories that my brother and I share of our father, Ed. 

Edward James Muriano passed away in the early morning hours of March 4th, just under three weeks shy of his 81st birthday due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Ed was born to Sam and Anna on March 23,1944. He was the youngest of two siblings, with an older brother, Jack.  For much of his young life, Ed and family resided at 316 Division Street in Boonton, New Jersey, along with Sam’s brother, Tony and his wife, Carmella Rose, aka “Carm”.  Uncle Tony and Aunt Carmboth had a huge hand in raising both Ed and Jack, more a beloved second set of parents than an Aunt and an Uncle. By his own admission, Ed was not the best student, but he did have a love of sports and excelled at football while attending Boonton High School, graduating in 1962. It was also here that Ed met his future wife, Barbara Fitch, better known to most as “Bobbi”.  A brief stint in college took Ed to Omaha, Nebraska, but Ed soon returned to New Jersey and entered the work force, and work he did. Ed and Bobbi married soon after his return to New Jersey. The first of two sons, Dean, came along in 1970 followed by Michael in 1972.

Armed with a ferocious work ethic, likely inherited from his mother Anna, Ed forged a career that would make him a self-made millionaire when all was said and done. This included over twenty years as a warehouse manager for Wakefern Food Corp. and later striking out on his own with a business partner to launch a successful food production business, Concord Marketing. Despite those long days and nights, Ed and Bobbi found a way to make it to all of Dean and Mike’s games and other significant childhood events growing up.  Their marriage, like most, had its ups and downs, but there was always a love there and Ed helped to care for Bobbi until she passed away in 2008. Prior to that, they both enjoyed the addition of four grandchildren, Jack, Annabelle, Dylan and Kayla; all of whom they both cherished. In his later years, Ed and his partner, June Esposito, relocated from Boonton to Florida, with Ed remaining in Florida until he passed.  

It could be said that Ed had both a bark and a bite, but ultimately that bark was much worse. Despite a tough, usually well-tanned and coifed exterior, he was, at times, a teddy bear underneath it all.  Speaking of barks, one could also say he was a best friend to man’s best friend, with a lifelong love of dogs, sometimes playfully driving them crazy with his own pitch perfect bark. Ed is survived by his eldest son, Dean and wife, Christianne; his youngest son, Michael and wife, Stephanie; as well as, his four grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at “Johnnie’s Tavern” in Boonton, NJ on Saturday, April 19, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Johnnie’s Tavern is located at 301 Boonton Avenue in Boonton, New Jersey.