Obituary of Mario DiFranco

Mario DiFranco, 65, of Freehold Township passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at home.  Mario was born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy and came to the United States in 1975 settling in Brooklyn.  He had lived in the Huguenot section of Staten Island before moving to Freehold Township in 1988.  Mario retired from the Construction & General Building Laborer’s Union, Local 79, NYC, NY in 2016 with over 30 years of dedicated service.  He had a passion for making wine, as well as drinking it and could be found tending to his vegetable garden or fig trees.  Mario relished in his time at the beach and on the water.  He loved to eat seafood and cook and was always a fashion forward gentleman.  Most of all, Mario was a family man, devoted to his wife, affectionate to his children, and adoring Nonno to his grandchildren. 

Mario is survived by his wife of 42 years, Angela; three children, Andrew DiFranco and his wife, Angela of Freehold, JoAnn Vaccaro and her husband, Patsy of Toms River and Frank DiFranco of Howell; and three grandchildren, Lucas, Emma, and Julius.

A visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Monday, August 2, 2021, from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Relatives and friends are invited to gather at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 at the funeral home for the procession to his 10:30 AM Funeral Mass at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 16 McLean Street,  Freehold, NJ 07728.  Entombment will follow in St. Gabriel’s Cemetery & Chapel Mausoleum, 549 Route 520 (Newman Springs Road), Marlboro, NJ 07746.  For those who desire, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN  38105. For information, directions or to leave condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.