ORANGE -- Friends and colleagues mourned Orange's fire chief Martin DeMarzo in a memorial service today, remembering him as a family man devoted to his work and to his disabled son.
Known as "Marty" to his friends, family and colleagues, he died Sunday morning after a routine hernia operation. DeMarzo, who was 50 years old, had spent 29 years working for the Orange fire department and was promoted to chief last year.
DeMarzo was born and raised in Orange and was a popular student on the wrestling and track teams at Our Lady of the Valley High School, according to his childhood friend and colleague Capt. Robert Manganelli.
"In high school, and in his whole life, Marty made it a point not just to know everyone, but to know about their families and lives," Manganelli said. "He always had major concern for other people."
DeMarzo's brother Eugene DeMarzo said that, although the chief tried his hand at three out-of-town colleges, he never really left Orange.
"He just flourished here, because it was an environment where everyone knew him," Eugene DeMarzo said.
Eugene DeMarzo said his brother's idol was their older brother Ben, who now serves as a deputy fire chief in Orange. Eugene DeMarzo said Martin initially joined the department 29 years ago to follow in his brother's footsteps and fell in love with the job.
Before he became chief, Martin DeMarzo was the city's emergency management coordinator, a fire inspector and a captain, among a number of other positions.
"Quantitatively, it's impossible to to measure all of the things he's done," said deputy chief James Fonzino, who is currently acting as fire chief in DeMarzo's place. "Through it, he always had the respect of everyone on the force."
Almost ten years into his career, DeMarzo married his wife Diane and moved with her to Livingston. The couple had four sons, including Samuel, now 18, who was born premature and severely mentally disabled, said Eugene DeMarzo.
Despite the hardships of Samuel's handicaps, DeMarzo stayed positive and remained highly involved in his son's life, said Sean Murphy, vice president of the Matheny School in Peapack where Samuel studied.
"He made everyone feel special, especially his son," Murphy said. "Every event, Martin would be there, or he would call if he was running late."
Friends and family are shocked by DeMarzo's death at the Morristown Memorial Hospital after a routine hernia operation Thursday. Though the hospital cannot comment due to privacy laws, DeMarzo said his brother's bowels began leaking and poisoned his body during the operation. He was pronounced dead around 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
A service was held tonight at the Mt. Carmel Church in Orange. According to city spokeswoman Tahira Cooper, more than 300 people were in attendance. The city also barricaded the area around the church and held a procession in his honor.
"This is a terrible loss to the city," Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. said in an interview. "Chief DeMarzo was one of the best men in the department. He never said a bad word about anybody, and we wish the best for his family."
DeMarzo's death occurred three days before his 20th wedding anniversary and just hours before his nephew's wedding. His brother said that, after careful deliberation, the family decided to have the wedding.
"This may sound corny, but we decided that Martin would have wanted us to go on with the wedding," Eugene DeMarzo said. "We were all suffering, but we pulled it off through Martin's strength."
View and sign Guest Book for Mr. DeMarzo