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Donald Gatto Obituary
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Donald Anthony Gatto passed away peacefully, Wednesday evening, July 24, 2024 at his home in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany following an extended illness. He was 88.
Born and raised in Scranton, PA, he had lived in Morristown, NJ, Lake Parsippany, NJ, and Madison, NJ before coming to Lake Hiawatha, NJ 42 years ago.
Mr. Gatto was a proud United States Marine and served in the Marine Corps from 1955-1959 before his honorable discharge. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal.
Don was a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service in Madison, NJ for 27 years, retiring in 1992. He subsequently worked as an evening stacker with the United Parcel Service in Parsippany.
He was a longtime member of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Survivors include his loving wife of 43 years, Mary Ann (nee Raffaele) Gatto; three beloved children, Suzanne Hickey of Montville, NJ, Chris Gatto of New York, NY, and David Gatto and his wife, Michelle of Middletown, NJ; a brother, James Gatto and his wife, Monica of Cedar Knolls, NJ; a sister, Carol Jackson of Scranton, PA; and three cherished grandchildren, Kyle Hickey, Kieran Hickey, and Victoria Gatto.
Visitation will be held privately. Relatives and friends are invited to attend Graveside Services with Military Honors on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 1:00pm at Brigadier Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, NJ. Private interment will follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in Don's memory can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://woundedwarriorproject.org).
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Donald Gatto, please visit Tribute Store
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1 Entry
Paul J Sabatine
October 7, 2024
With a heavy Heart I was sad to hear of your loss. I work with Don from 1973 to when he retired from the Madison Post Office. We were good freinds and behind that tough exterior was a kind heart. I tried hardest to stop him from retiring because I knew I would miss him as well as many of my fellow carriers. He was a source of much levity and comic relief that made our longest most diffcuilt days pass swiftly. One of his many sayings was "even this day will end" and no matter how miserable that day could be, it did. We called them Gattoisms. Anybody that knew Don could never forget him. He was that special.
May our Holy Father Bless him and your Family
Paul J Sabatine
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60 North Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034
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