Anthony Piperi passed away on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at his home. He was 83 years old.

Born in Rahway, he resided in Woodbridge Township most of his life.

Mr. Piperi served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War.

Anthony was employed with National State Bank, M & T Chemicals in Rahway and retired from the United States Postal Service after many years of service.

He was a communicant of Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Avenel.

Anthony was predeceased by his parents, John and Dorothy Piperi; sister, Louise Watters; and his brothers, John, Albert and Richard Piperi.

Surviving are his children, Danette Kearns, her husband John and David Piperi; grandchildren Michaela, Quint, and Anthony; brother, Donald and his wife Alison of Port Reading, and brother-in-law Thomas Watters of Woodbridge; sister-in-law Sherry of Newbury Park, California and many loving nieces, nephews, as well as, great nieces and great nephews.

Funeral services will take place on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Costello-Koyen Funeral Home, 399 Avenel Street, Avenel. Interment will be at Saint Gertrude Cemetery, Colonia. Visitation will be on Monday, September 21, 2026 from 2-4 and 6-8 pm at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to Vitas Hospice 1040 Broad Street Suite 300, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702 Attn: Donations - Diana or Reclam the Bay, Https://reclamthebay.org/donate/ or at RCTB 68 Main Street, Waretown, NJ 08758. Please request an acknowledgment be sent to you and to Danette Kearns or David Piperi so that your donation is recognized and a return thank you is sent for it.

If there is anything that we can say about our Dad is that he was a true family man. We don't mean this in the strictest sense of the phrase of what you might think of when you hear this, but rather in the sense that he was someone who gave support, love and friendship to each of us in different ways. For example we don't want you to think that he was similar to familiar "family man" stereotypes like Ward Cleaver, Mike Brady, Howard Cunningham or Tim "The Toolman" Taylor or heck he's not even akin to the likes of Fred Flintstone or Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin for that matter. While he may have had attributes of each of these characters at one point in time or another — the type of family man he was has never been captured as a character on a television show or even any movie to our recollection. This is because we are talking about more than just his immediate family, as we can attest to, but rather his whole family - meaning his "extended" family - from his relationship as a responsible, reliable & loving son to his parents, but also as a brother, friend, mentor and caretaker to his siblings.

In addition, he played the role of a supportive, funny and "mean" uncle. Now we have to stop here for a moment. Yes, you did hear that correctly, I did say mean. You're probably thinking "mean"? What do they mean when they say "mean?" That description does not follow or fit or just feel right in this context.

Let us explain.

Our dearly departed Aunt Louise - the only sister our dad had, referred to him as "Uncle “Mean or Meanie" to her daughter, my our cousin Tracey.

Well the reason he obtained this "loving" term of endearment was because, ~~as a baby~~, his God-daughter/niece, Missy, would cry every time he tried to pick her up. But eventually she would grow very attached to him!

His demeanor was such that he extended that same light heartedness & affection to his nieces & nephews & subsequent great nieces & nephews. Always with a Dad joke or a little jesting with the kids.

To his grandchildren he was loving, primarily playful, and very supportive in their sports (Little League through High School sports) & educational endeavors, always interested in their adulthood development in their chosen careers and life events and when Danette & John’s kids were younger he served as an unknowing target of nerf darts and other shenanigans they would pull when grandpa was "napping" after too many glasses of wine.

To his Son-in-law a great substitute Dad and friend whether it be for homeownership advice or just talking about sports.

As a coworker, manager and friend, he was someone everyone liked to be around. He had a great sense of humor and would pal around with those people he was like minded with. Usually those who liked to party either drinking beer, wine or having a little weed before it became a legal substance in NJ. In the end, he still liked his beer and wine. At one point Danette & John’s children dressed up a bottle of a cheap red wine with blond (yellow yarn0 hair and gave her a voluptuous figure and said, “Here Grandpa, you should marry her.” It was a bottle he didn’t open for a long time as he thought it was hysterical and did not disagree with their assessment.. Not sure if she is still hanging around gathering dust someplace but we’ll find that out soon enough.

He had multiple hobbies throughout the years, he liked to hunt but later just enjoyed if for the camaraderie of it, he liked to garden, cook, ski and play and coach softball and little league. He enjoyed going to Monmouth Park Racetrack where he bet on the grey horse in any race and to Rutgers Football Games with his sister and brother in law to cheer on his niece Tracey (cheerleader) and of course rooting for the Scarlet Knights football team.Most of all he liked the beach and working on his dark reddish brown tan that he still sat outside to get at his senior living complex. He was a quiet observer there. He had indicated that he didn’t know many people there but Danette has found that most in his building knew exactly who he was. “Such a nice man.” is being repeated to her weekly during her recent visits over the last several months.

He understood the circle of life and the importance of family. He once went hunting during “doe” season and cried when the doe spilt milk from her glands when she was being gutted as meat for the hunters.

Ultimately to us he was a father, a disciplinarian, a teacher, a confidant and our number one fan. He understood the ups and downs of life and rode with us or alongside us every step of the way. In the end, he was that stalwart figure who refused to give up his role as Dad and Father, he took the brunt of the pain (although we do have high tolerances) even with the medications he was consistently a 5 on a scale of 10 (10 being the worst case). He was taking that pain for us so that we didn’t have to bear it. He was a protector in that way and felt his role as father & Daddy was to protect his children, not vice versa. I thank him for that but he knew we may have needed that little bit of help so as not to see him suffer. We trust that he is with his heavenly family and friends and enjoying the fruits of his laborious existence on earth. We are the ones who will bear the pain of his loss now, but his love to all of us left behind, knows no bounds, time is a construct of humans on Earth - the soul lives on and in us. Always. We will miss you Dad, but you will never leave our hearts as you have imprinted yourself on us in unmeasurable ways.

With much love, gratefulness and respect.

His children,

Danette & David