Louis A. Nitti, of West Orange, NJ and Cape Coral, FL passed away peacefully on October 12, 2017. 

Born and raised in the Ironbound section of Newark, Lou Nitti served with the 45th Infantry during WWII. After arriving in North Africa, he participated in the European campaign up the coast of Italy, spending four months in fox holes on the beaches of Anzio. His troop was reassembled in England and redeployed to France and then Germany.

PFC Nitti was put in charge of the PX and earned the reputation as a WWII “Radar O’Reilly.” His best friends at the time were in charge of the mess tent and the motor pool. Many a General owed favors to the threesome of Nitti, Pedota and Springett. At the Berlin wedding of an army friend, he met PFC Helen Schaller from Miami, Fl , who was serving in the Woman’s Army Corps. They married in 1946 and resided in Newark then South Orange. 

Lou was the president of Nitti Lumber Company, Newark NJ, until his retirement in 1992. Mr. Nitti’s success in business can be attributed to his exceptional work ethic and outstanding business sense. He was active in the Lumbermen’s Association of NJ, a founding member and past president of South Orange UNICO. He was a regular communicant at Our Lady of Sorrows, South Orange and Our Lady of the Lake, Verona.

Mr. Nitti was known to many as “Uncle Lou.” He was incredibly generous, had a great sense of humor, and loved being with his family and friends in NJ and FL. After retirement, he took up fishing and enjoyed boating around the waters of SW Florida. 

Lou was predeceased by his first wife, Helen and by his sisters, Madeline DeSanti and Grace Miraglia.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 10 years Valerie (Mayer) Nitti, his son, Ronald L. Nitti and his fiancé, Paula Geary and his daughter, Kathleen C. Nash and her husband, Peter and stepchildren Alex Laing and Lori Brewster and her husband, Rashawn. He was the loving grandfather of Jacqueline Redmond and Matthew Nitti, and the proud great-grandfather of Katie, Shannon, Derek and William.

Visitation at the Leonardis Memorial Home 210 Ridgedale Ave. Florham Park on Monday from 4-8pm.  Funeral on Tuesday, assembling at 9am followed by a mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in S. Orange at 10:30am.  Entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St John’s Soup Kitchen,  St. John's, P.O. Box 200147, Newark, NJ 07102, (http://njsoupkitchen.org/donate.htm)

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