Michael Profita

Fort Lee - Michael Profita, 68, passed away peacefully on March 5, 2021, from complications related to lymphoma and COVID-19. He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Nancy; three beloved children, Daniel (Angie), Hillary Siclari (Brian), and Nicholas (Elizabeth); five siblings, Thomas (JoAnn), Kenneth (Diane), Robert, John (Jodi), and Jeanmarie Curley (Bob); and five grandchildren, Natalie, Michael, William, Stella Siclari, and Owen. Michael was born in Trenton, NJ, on April 5, 1952. He graduated from Drake University in with a BA in Economics & Management. He received his JD from Seton Hall School of Law and his LLM in Taxation from New York University. Michael was a brilliant attorney in the eyes of adversaries, colleagues, and clients, who very often became dear friends. A true self-made man, Michael built a busy law practice from the ground up over the course of 40 years and later merged the firm with DeCotiis, achieving great success. He remained a trusted advisor to his clients even in his final days. Above all, he was a consummate family man, always present at his children's events and ever-proud of their achievements. His greatest joy in recent years was no doubt his grandchildren, whom he delighted in treating to ice cream, chocolate and other things they were not supposed to eat. He loved good food and good wine, but not more than he enjoyed treating others to the same. His generosity — always expressed quietly and without fanfare — was among his most remarkable traits. And he had many remarkable traits. His quick wit, thoughtfulness, and endless support and love of his family and friends will be desperately missed. A memorial mass will be celebrated at 11AM on Thursday at Mount Carmel RC Church, Tenafly. Due to COVID restrictions, anyone unable to physically attend the mass may view the service via livestream at www.facebook.com/OLMCTeanfly. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Michael's name to the John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, 92 2nd St, Hackensack, NJ 07601. Visit Michael's memorial tribute page at www.barrettleberfuneralhome.com.

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Published by The Record/Herald News from Mar. 6 to Mar. 7, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for Michael Profita

6 Entries

Mason

March 21, 2024

Hey uncle Mike I miss you I´m sorry I missed your funeral. I´m doing really good now though. Thanks for always giving me good advice and cooking the chevalatta perfectly. Love Mason

David Edwab

February 29, 2024

Mike
It´s almost three years since you have left us and I miss you, talk about and think about you all the time!
Hope you´re watching all of us and fishing.
David Edwab
March 1, 2024

Chris Aylward

March 11, 2021

Photo R to L is of Mike, Doug and I a few years ago when Mike and Nancy were in Chicago. Doug and I met Mike in fall of 1970 as freshman at Drake. We continued our friendship for more than 50 years reconnecting yearly in Ft. Lauderdale for Senior Spring Break where other friends and clients would also join in or when I was in NY/NJ for business. The tributes have have been spot on regarding his intelligence, superior capabilities as a lawyer, generosity, love of family and of course his quick wit. As one of many friends, that’s what we’ll always cherish and miss the most, his fun approach to life and the laughter. I’m grateful I was lucky enough to know him and enjoy his friendship for half a century. Mike met Nancy at Drake and I remember him leaving Des Moines with his Pontiac packed, Honda 500 in a trailer behind, excited to be seeing Nancy again when he got to Rochester. My sincere condolences to Nancy, their children, grand children and so many others that feel the loss

David Edwab

March 9, 2021

To Nancy, Hillary, Danny and Nick,

My family and I offer you our sincere condolences. We loved Mike and he will always be in all of our hearts. We know what a good man is because we saw it in Mike. He always had a smile on his face when he talked about his family, had a great meal or a wonderful bottle of wine, provided his clients with sound advice or caught a fish.

We will always be there for all of you.

David, Meg, Chris and Heather

Rosemary Renn

March 7, 2021

Extraordinary, the adjective which is best to describe Michael Profita. He was extraordinarily smart, hard-working, honest, loving, generous and humble. As Mike's personal assistant for decades I have witnessed many examples of the above qualities. He was so smart. Every client he represented was fortunate. He planned out his court cases the way a Grand Master played chess, anticipating his opponent's moves and guarding against them. I really don't remember him ever losing. If a client had a losing case he would manage to settle it so their loss was slight. Hard working goes without saying. He worked seven days a week and even on vacation, he kept going. He was always honest. I never once witnessed anything that wasn't above board, never witnessed him lying and was never told to lie for him. If he couldn't speak to a client I had to tell them he would call them back, but never say he wasn't there if he was. He loved his family above all. I witnessed that all the time. Even after I retired I would occasionally be treated to a video or photo of his grandchildren. He loved Nancy and his children so much. He always cared about my family and me. He always had time to listen and give his wise advice. Generous. Nobody was more generous. I could list so, so many ways he was generous but he wouldn't like that because he was modest and humble and would be embarrassed if I listed everything. He did like to surprise you with his gifts. I had to stop letting him know if I was going out to dinner with my husband to a certain restaurant because if I did at the end of the meal, the waiter would announce that an "anonymous" person called with their credit card and paid for our meal. When my daughter was getting married I went to buy a gown and went into an expensive boutique to discover just how expensive it was. I told Nancy about it. The next day Nancy told me Mike wanted me to go there and buy whatever gown I wanted and he would pay for it. Those are just two examples of his generosity to me. He never told me how he was generous to others but often I would find out third hand how he had helped someone. I could write a book about how extraordinary Mike was. My family and I will miss and remember him forever. We will keep in touch with the family as the Profitas always treated us as family. I am 73 years old and never knew anybody as extraordinary as Michael Profita.

With sincere thanks for everything you gave us, Mike and Nancy,

Rosemary and Howard Renn

Larry ferolie

March 7, 2021

So sorry to hear this, I was fortunate enough to have known Mike on personal level and enjoyed playing paddle with him. Seems like he was respected and admired on a professional level and It's nice to read about his accomplishments.

Mike, we will miss you

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