Jack DiPiazza

James T. "Jack" DiPiazza, 96 of Pompton Plains, formerly of Wyckoff, passed away peacefully at home on February 9, 2023 with his wife of 67 years, Lila, at his side. He was loved and respected as a man devoted to his family and his faith.
Jack was born and raised in Garfield, NJ. Industrious from the start, while a student he worked at the Garfield YMCA - handing out towels and selling ice cream cones, setting pins at the bowling alley and rolling the clay tennis courts. Among his fondest memories were those of the Garfield Pioneers, a basketball team formed by boys from the Y who remained lifetime friends.
Growing up, the house in Garfield was filled with music. At age ten Jack began playing the bugle and soon a battered old trumpet purchased from an uncle who played professionally and gave Jack lessons. He played throughout his life, including college, then with "Phil Krop and his Knights of Rhythm" to earn extra money as a young man, and much later as a member of the "AU Guys," a jazz band associated with Activities Unlimited, a retired men's club based in Wyckoff.
Jack was a graduate of Virginia Tech University and proud to be a "Hokie." When Jack attended, Virginia Tech was a military school. One of his favorite stories to share was how he learned this fact only after arriving on campus on his first day. His time in college was interrupted by a stint in the Merchant Marines serving on the crew of ships delivering airplane fuel to Allied forces during World War II. Jack worked in the engine rooms of tankers traveling in convoys that were hunted by enemy submarines, first in the Atlantic Ocean and later the Pacific.
After the war, he earned a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, becoming the first in his extended family to earn a college degree. His career began with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Cleveland, (where he earned a master's degree in Chemical Engineering at Case Western University), and later Washington, D.C., developing airplane lubricants and fuels for the government. The critical nature of his work exempted Jack from the draft during the Korean War, but after the war ended he was drafted. Following basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., he was assigned to the Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, home base at the time for Wernher von Braun and other German rocket scientists. The newlyweds Jack and Lila began married life in Huntsville.
After completing his Army service, Jack shifted gears and accepted a position with Esso Research and Engineering in Linden, N.J. His successful 30-year career with what became Exxon included roles in research and new product development, as well as sales leadership roles serving major accounts.
Once Jack retired from Exxon he and Lila traveled to Europe and spent many happy summers at their vacation home on Long Beach Island. They loved when their children and grandchildren vacationed with them. Jack was a golf enthusiast and enjoyed many rounds of golf with his Activities Unlimited friends. He also continued to pay the trumpet into his early nineties.
Jack and his family lived for more than 55 years in Wyckoff, where he was a devoted parishioner of the Church of Saint Elizabeth in Wyckoff.
Jack is survived by his wife Lila; their five children: David DiPiazza (Debbie) of Ramsey, NJ, Paul DiPiazza (Patricia) of Silver Spring, MD, Carl DiPiazza (Lori) of Montville, NJ, Lisa Potash (Tom) of Oakland, NJ, and Thomas DiPiazza of Woodcliff Lake, NJ, fourteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Visitation is Sunday, February 12th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Vander Plaat Funeral Home in Wyckoff. A funeral mass celebrating Jack's life is on Monday, February 13th at 10:00 a.m. at the Church of Saint Elizabeth with Entombment to follow at Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jack's memory to St. Judes Childrens Research Hosptial 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105.
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