BLOOMFIELD, NJ — On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the United Way of Bloomfield presented its first-ever “Cornerstone of Excellence Award” to a husband and wife for their generous contributions to the township during the years. The event was held at The Manor, in West Orange.
The honorees, John and Gerry Generazio, are the owners of Generazio Associates Inc., an independent insurance agency located at 265 Broad St. They reside in Glen Ridge.
At the agency, John’s third-floor office is spacious and comfortable with the feel of a family living room. Sports memorabilia and signed photographs of professional athletes are collected on walls and shelves, as are community service awards. A photograph of former Bloomfield Mayor Raymond McCarthy is conspicuously displayed. But what gives the room the feeling of being part of a home and not a business address is the immediate and lasting impression of a happy couple. They were interviewed together last week for this story.
John, 74, grew up in Newark and attended Barringer High School. Gerry, 71, was raised in Irvington and went to Irvington High School. They met in an Irvington candy store named Coley’s located a few doors down Springfield Avenue from the appliance store where John worked. Call it love at first sight.
“It was Nov. 21, 1960,” John said when he met Gerry.
“I fibbed about my age,” she said. “I was 15 and he was 18.”
The girl told her future husband she was 16.
“From the moment we met each other, we’ve been together ever since,” she said.
They married in 1965 and have two children. Michele was born in 1966 and Michael was born in 1969.
In 1968, John started work in government bonds. But after seeing other people making all the money, he changed course in 1969 and became a salesman for the Intercontinental Life Insurance Co. Within nine months, he was recognized as the most productive insurance salesman throughout the entire company. He later worked for the Nationwide Insurance Co. and in 1971 established Generazio Associates. Gerry said they decided to establish the company in Bloomfield because it had the feeling of a tight-knit community, like Irvington.
“A lot of the same atmosphere in Irvington ran in Bloomfield,” she said. “We had a choice looking for a building, here or in Clifton.”
But Bloomfield people, she said, made her feel comfortable right away.
“I can’t say enough about them,” she said. “It’s not a cliquey town. If you need help, they have their arms open. We’ve made so many lifelong friends.”
The role of a homestead has played a critical part in their lives.
After being married, the couple resided in a two-family house in Irvington with John’s parents. In 1979, both families moved into a small, Bloomfield one-family house. A year later they moved into a Glen Ridge home. Gerry said having both families together gave her the opportunity to work with her husband while the grandparents looked after the kids. Parents and children are still tightly knit.
“My daughter lives 14 houses away and my son a couple more blocks,” John said.
Michele is also the president of Generazio Associates. The company has 23 employees and is licensed to sell insurance in 17 states. John’s son-in-law, Phil, is also with the company while his son Michael runs Triple S Inc., a professional audio equipment repair company. The buildings where Generazio Associates and the audio repair shop are located are owned by John, as is a third Bloomfield building. All building are on Broad Street. At one time, John was also the proprietor of Brittany Sports Cards, a sports-card business that had two Broad Street locations. These stores were named after a granddaughter.
John said he will be a little embarrassed on the night of the United Way ceremony with people saying nice things about him. But it was with a smile that he said his name is derived from the Italian word for generous. Former Mayor Raymond McCarthy, he said, would handle the accolades at the ceremony.
“He’s a Democrat and I’m a Republican,” John said.
Over the years, the Generazios have been involved with numerous community efforts, including HarvestFest, the Lions Club and “adopting” needy families during the holidays. About a year and a half ago, they provided $1,000 to the Glen Ridge Police Department for bulletproof vests. John served as president of the Bloomfield Parking Authority and chairman of the Bloomfield Business Advisory Board and vice-president of the United Way of Bloomfield.
“The HarvestFest was very stressful,” he said of the premier Bloomfield event he chaired for many years.
But the stress was worth it, he said, “when you’re able to give out that money.”
According to John, in 2010, the event provided $100,000 to Bloomfield organizations.
For Gerry, giving back to the community is second nature for John and her.
“To have built a business to where we are now, it gives us a sense of pride to have helped people,” she said. “You want to give back. For us, it’s normal.”
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