Gennaro Joseph "Gene" Mirabella

1935 - 2014

Gennaro "Gene" Joseph Mirabella

AGE: 79 • Manchester

Gennaro "Gene" Mirabella, 79, of Manchester, died Monday, May 26 at Community Medical Center, Toms River. Born in New York, he lived in Roselle Park, moving to Edgewater, FL for 10 years and retiring to Manchester 6 years ago. He was a police officer in Elizabeth, NJ for 39 years in which he served as Chief of Police for the last 9 years, retiring in 1999. During his tenure with the police department he implemented the mobile police units for Elizabeth and worked diligently with the Child and Battered Woman support groups. Upon joining the Police Department, Gene joined the Elizabeth Police Pistol Team under the coaching auspices of Detective Eddie Gray. He shot his first perfect 300 score at the State Tournament in 1965, which was held in Woodbridge. Incredibly, Gene shot 336 perfect 300 scores between 1965 and 1985. He held the State Pistol Championship with the highest national police average for 18 consecutive years, and recorded a national police record average of 299.65, which still stands today and made him eligible for induction into the Elizabeth Hall of Fame. His love of competitive shooting was recognized by the County of Union, with a state of the art Police training range located in Springfield and named in his honor. Gene was selected as the Elizabeth Athlete of the Year for 1975 after winning the prestigious Elizabeth Daily Journal Chris Zuzi Award. He also won the Midwestern Police Championship in Tampa, FL. He shot 42 perfect 30x300 scores for the state and national records and was invited to participate in the Olympic Trials of 1970. In his last pistol match, in 1986, Gene fired a perfect 30x30 score. He was Athlete of the Year in Elizabeth in 1975. He was a member of the Union County Police Chief Association, the Superior Officers, the Union County Pistol League, and the Elizabeth City Pistol Team. He was a Communicant of St. John's Church, was an avid bowler and bocce player. While living in Manchester, he served on the Association Board for the River Pointe developments. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Grace; his sons Alexander and wife Phyllis of Fanwood, NJ, Patrick and his wife Donna of Washington Twp, Gennaro Jr of Essex Fells, NJ; his daughter Santa Ann Marie Mirabella of Essex Fells. He is also survived by his six grandchildren whom he loved very much; Alexander, Micayla, Zoe, Joshua, Raquel, and Lily. A Memorial Gathering will be held 3-7 PM, Friday, May 29th at Oliverie Funeral Home, 2925 Ridgeway Rd. A Memorial Mass will be held 10 AM, Saturday May 31st at St. John's Church in Lakehurst, followed by an inurnment at St. Joseph's Cemetery, Toms River. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations in Gene's name to Sloan Kettering Memorial Colon Cancer Research, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021.