Former mayor John Crecco has died at 96

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Former Bloomfield Mayor John Crecco died Saturday, April 1, at the Halcyon Hospice House, in Atlanta, Ga., at the age of 96.

Crecco, a Republican and former resident of Bloomfield and Verona, was first elected Bloomfield mayor in 1986; he served one term and was later re-elected for another term in 1992, then served as interim mayor 2001 to 2002. He previously served on the Bloomfield Town Council for four terms, beginning in 1971. His wife Marion, a former state assemblywoman, died in 2015.

In a telephone interview, Crecco’s daughter, Ginny, said her father was a pharmaceutical salesman after graduating from Seton Hall University.
“At an early age, I saw him raising money,” she said earlier this week. “It was the beginning of who he would become, an incredible humanitarian.”

She said he began the Crecco Foundation in 1967 to raise money for hospital beds for cardiac patients at Columbus Hospital in Newark.

“That’s where it all began,” she said.
Crecco’s inspiration was a young man named Stevie Martino, his daughter said.
“He had a heart defect,” she said. “He and my father were like peas and carrots.”

Martino’s photograph was continually displayed on the brochure of the gala that was presented each year by the foundation which celebrated its 50th year in 2015. Ginny called Martino the poster boy for the foundation.

“I kept the foundation alive to raise money for Crecco Plaza,” she said.
The proposed plaza would be located between the Bloomfield Public Library and Broad Street to commemorate Crecco’s WWII service record.

Her father had a big heart when it came to young people, Ginny said. His Crecco Athletic Club sponsored many sports teams for 40 years as well as the Bloomfield Junior Olympics at Foley Field.

“It just never ended until he got sick,” Ginny said. “I was in awe of this man.”
For more about the life of former Mayor John Crecco, see his obituary on Page 21 in this newspaper.