Jules G Spada

Roman Julius Gabriel “Jules” Spada was born July 6, 1930, in Whippany, NJ, to Anselmo and Maria.  He was the youngest of seven children, including Roger, Ann, Claire, Marius, Jim, and Gloria (all pre-deceased).  

Jules attended Whippany Grammar School.  During 7th and 8th grade, he served as an altar boy at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Whippany.  It was there that Jules met a visiting priest from Delbarton, Father Augustine Verhagen, who spoke highly of Delbarton and encouraged Jules to enroll there at the start of his 9th grade year.  Jules soon became one of the 12 members of Delbarton’s first graduating class of 1948.  While at Delbarton, Jules lettered in basketball, football, and baseball, also participating in track and the arts.  In 1948, he entered Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he competed as a finalist in the 1950 NH Golden Gloves. He transferred to Seton Hall University in 1950 and captured the 1950 NJ Diamond Gloves Championship. In 1952, Jules graduated with a B.S. as Modern Languages, specializing in Italian and Spanish. 

Jules was thereupon inducted into the Army. After basic training, he was deployed to Trieste, Italy, located on the North Adriatic Sea, a two-hour drive from the small town where his parents had been born. In Trieste, he served as a special guard and Italian-language interpreter of General Bernice McFayden, a post which Jules regarded as the highlight of his Army career. In 1953, Jules became the Command Champion from Italy at 160 pounds, defeating Lenny Hock in the finals. As champion, he competed against the Austrian and German champions. Jules KO’d George Brentar, the Austrian champ, in the second round, and defeated Phil Black, the German champ, in three rounds. 

After being discharged from the Army in 1954, Jules entered the family business, Whippany Soap Products, Inc.  

In 1959, he married Marjorie Singer, and the couple honeymooned in Acapulco, Mexico.  They would celebrate their anniversary with a yearly trip to Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley.  The couple settled in Florham Park, where they raised their six children (below).  Jules attended daily mass at Holy Family Church. Family vacations included trips to Wildwood Crest, Cape Cod, and, in later years, Avon-by-the-Sea at the Cashelmara Inn (where he and Marge would yearly rent out nearly every room for their extended family). 

Jules had family in many parts of the world, including Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, France, and Italy, and through the years, Jules visited members of his extended family as often as he could.  Jules also travelled to Egypt, Greece, Canada, Germany, Ireland, many countries throughout South America, and, of course, within the United States.  One particular highlight for Jules was visiting the Valley of the King in Egypt with his friend and travel buddy Bob Tiger and stepping into the pyramid tomb that had housed King Tutankhamen. An avid photographer, Jules took many photographs of the places he visited. Closer to home, Jules enjoyed walks around Giralda Farms and Loantaka with friends.  He would often take day trips to Spring Lake and walk the boardwalk there. 

In 1985, Jules sold the business.  Through the years, Jules enjoyed watching Hanover Park football and wrestling matches.  He treasured being an alumnus of Delbarton School, attending many class and school reunions through the years. Following his retirement, Jules also picked up the hobby of woodworking and carving, and his basement is filled with many of those carvings.  

Jules was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998.  He had been a member of the International Veterans Boxing Association of Ring 25 since 1954. 

In 2021, he and his sister, Claire, donated the family’s historical home, the Tuttle House—where Jules was himself born—to the Township of Hanover.  The Landmark Commission is in the process of converting the 1796 home and surrounding property into the Tuttle-Spada Museum, slated for opening in 2026. 

Jules is survived by his devoted wife, Majorie (née Singer); his loving children, Ansel (Lauri) Spada, Maria (Sheikh) Naeem, Julius (Lynn) Spada, Stephen (Carrie) Spada, Susan (Michael) Perry, and Laura (George) Renzi; his cherished grandchildren, Gabriella (William) Koller and David Spada; Jeffrey, Joseph, Michael, and Marissa Naeem; Christopher, William, and Kaitlin Spada; Maxwell and Sophia Spada; Donovan and Veronica Perry; Francesca, Sebastian, and Charlotte Renzi; his great-grandson, Brian Koller; Pinder Spada and Michelle Spada; and many nieces and nephews across the United States and the world.  

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jules’s name may be made out to Delbarton School, the Florham Park First Aid Squad, or any school, charity, or organization of your choice.

The funeral mass will be held at Holy Family Church in Florham Park on Tuesday at 10am, followed by the entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.  

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