Joseph LoCarro

Joseph LoCarro passed away peacefully at the age of 97 in the presence of his loving children on Tuesday, June 21, 2023.
Joe was born in 1925 to Jennie and Joseph LoCarro in Newark, NJ. At the age of fourteen, he left school and began learning how to earn a living and manage a business, skills upon which he built a lifetime career and much pride as a provider to his beloved family. Joe was sharp as a tack. A talented businessman and entrepreneur, he progressed with the world as it evolved and changed. He was one of the earliest owners of the IBM System 32, one of the very first computers, and he had an iphone 12(?) on the day he left this earth. Joe never stopped learning and challenging himself to understand the latest trends, investment strategies, politics and his favorite, gadgets and technology. When Joe was eighteen he was drafted into the United States Coast Guard which he considered a great honor. Among other assignments, Joe served on the USS General W.H. Gordon, a troop transport that supported the United States Navy in World War II, for a year and a half. After an honorable discharge he returned home to live with his family in New Jersey. He began working in the toy business, traveling to Ludlow Street in New York City every day to buy and sell balloons. He would travel up and down the Jersey Shore from Union Beach to Wildwood, leveraging his friends and networks, staying with people he knew and selling the latest “hot numbers” in the toy world to make a living, paid in nickels, dimes and quarters. Before he knew it, he was selling $500 per trip, outsourcing trucks to pick up loads in the city and sell where he knew the market was. He loved telling stories of the hottest toys he saw come on the market, and how the kids would line up at the beach shouting “here comes the toy guy!” when he would arrive.
In addition to working, Joe loved roller skating and would do so nightly with his friends. He performed at the Dreamland Arena and Madison Square Garden touring with Betty Lytelle. Eventually Joe connected and partnered with Star Toy Distributors in Irvington, NJ, one of two toy jobbers in the northeast at the time, and continued working in the toy business for many years. He and his business partners eventually moved their business to Clifton in the late 1960s. When the toy industry evolved into big box distribution, Joe pivoted his business into warehousing, leveraging the property he owned in Clifton. Joe continued to run various businesses out of his properties, managing them himself until only a few days before he departed.
During a trip to Seaside Heights, a friend introduced him to Audrey Roman, and after “going together for a while” she invited him up for a manicotti dinner and he instantly knew they were meant to be. After their Valentine’s Day wedding in 1954 they bought a split-level home in Bloomfield, NJ for $17,800 and built a life together there that lasted for 46 years. After the passing of his beloved Audrey in February 2000, Joe found Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains, NJ and built the next chapter of his life surrounded by new friends and many happy times to follow. He enjoyed many social events, trips to casinos, community dances, and volunteering at his catholic church. He was known and loved by so many at Cedar Crest and offered to help and support as many friends as he could, whether ushering jazzies at mass, sharing advice or a laugh over a game of canasta or just providing a listening ear.
Despite all of his successes in business aside, when recently asked what he felt his greatest achievements were, he pointed to a picture of his family. He loved watching his family laugh and grow together and would continuously remind them “never be so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
Joseph is predeceased by his wife Audrey, his sister Edith, and dear friend Francis. He is survived by his two children: Joseph and his wife Debbie of Bloomfield, NJ, Cindy and her husband Tom of Freeport, NY. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Lauren and Michael Horbal, Katie and Shawn Kachnowski, Jackie and Kevin Artz, Matthew and Maria LoCarro and Kelly Nicholson, 7 great grandchildren, many loving nieces and nephews, and his dear friend Eileen Morley.
Arrangements by O’Boyle Funeral Home, Bloomfield. www.oboylefuneralhome.com
Funeral service was held on Monday, June 26 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church 60 Byrd Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ 07003.
In lieu of flowers, donations made in Joseph’s name to The Sisters of Charity, https://sistersofcharity.com/donate, would be greatly appreciated.