Dedication to Jada and Betty Ciccone: a narrative and pictorial tribute.

Jada and Betty Ciccone: A three Part Love Story

Part I: Jada

Around 1900 Domenico and Caterina Ciccone left their native Calabria in the south of Italy and came to America. They settled in Nutley, NJ where Domenico started a small business repairing shoes. His shop was located on the corner of Chestnut Street and Passaic Avenue just a few blocks from Franklin Ave. The family lived in an apartment above the shop which eventually became the home to their 6 children: Joseph, Sam and Elsie (twins), Helen, Albert, and Marge.

Though they named their fifth child Albert John, he was known forever as Jada because he constantly sang, hummed and tapped that 1918 ragtime classic, “Ja-Da” . He likely heard a rendition of it by the Original New Orleans Jazz Band which included Jimmy Durante on piano.

Ja-da

Our bands have been digging back for tunes to be sung
Operas and nursery rhymes have been overdone
I dug a little deeper and I found this thing
It’s ragtime but it still can swing
It ain’t a turkeytrot or a shimmey onestep
But when grandma danced to it
She thought she was hep
It still is a ditty
I’m sure you will find
Will keep a runnin’ ’round and around your mind

Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da
Jing, Jing, Jing
Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da
Jing, Jing, Jing
That’s a funny little bit of melody
It’s so soothing and appealing to me
It goes Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da
Jing, Jing, Jing

Jada was outgoing, well liked and respected, and always in command. He managed the football team through high school and graduated from Nutley High School in 1930. He graduated from Montclair State College with a degree in education and became a teacher at Montclair High School. He eventually earned his Masters in Secondary Education from Columbia University in 1941.

Part II: Betty

Betty Mahony was born on February 10, 1923. She was the second child and only daughter of Frances (Fanny) and Ray Mahony, Sr. She was the younger sister by eight years to her brother Ray, Jr. She was one of only two children but was part of the extended Hickey and Mahony families which were numerous and well known in Passaic and Nutley. She was the pride of her father, an excellent student, and popular with her classmates. She was known for her great sense of humor and caring personality. She graduated from Nutley High School in June of 1941 and attended Skidmore College that fall.

Part: III Jada and Betty

It started as a gag, a joke. Ray Mahony, Jr. and Jada Ciccone had been friends for years: frequenting dances, parties and going down the shore often over the years. In the fall of 1941 Ray, his wife Helen, and Jada planned to attend a party and Jada needed a date. Helen and Ray jokingly suggested that Jada bring his sister Betty along. Betty was 11 years Jada’s junior so not much was expected other then a fun evening together.

Apparently they had good time as Betty and Jada were married one year later on December 9, 1942 at St Mary’s Church in Nutley. This first date, for which there were no expectations, resulted in a 42 year long love affair. Jada had enlisted in the Army earlier in 1942 and received orders to report to Officer’s Training School in Ft.Collins, CO, which was the start of 54 months of service. Just prior to the wedding, Jada was reassigned to Ft. Belvoir, VA. and Betty and Jada arrived there in mid-December of that year. Jada had responsibility for training, discipline, logistics, and staffing as well millions of dollars worth of engineering equipment and supplies. He was promoted to Lt. , 2nd Lt., Captain and finally to Major before he left the service.

In 1945 daughter Carol was born and Betty and Carol moved back to Nutley to live with her parents while Jada finished his time in the army. In September 1946 Jada was discharged, returned home and moved in with Betty and her parents on Prospect Street. In early 1947 Jada was looking for work when his father-in-law heard that Essex County school officials were looking for someone to organize, staff, and manage a newly conceived vocational/technical high school to service the county. Ray Sr. encouraged Jada to apply for the position which he did and that suggestion launched a 35 year career for Jada. He loved the position and was destined to become one of the most successful and respected administrators in the county system. After a long and highly productive career Jada retired in 1982.

In 1948 second daughter Kathleen arrived and the family moved to a new house at 115 Garrabrant Ave in Bloomfield. In 1958 they moved to Maplewood and also bought a bungalow in Manasquan at the Jersey Shore as both Jada and Betty loved the ocean. 1960 marked a surprise visit by third daughter Elizabeth Ann. Both Carol and Kathleen graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood. In 1974 the family moved one more time, returning to Nutley where Lizanne graduated from Nutley High in 1978.

Jada and Betty shared a dynamic, passionate, and loving relationship. Jada once told my brother Dennis that no matter how hectic or stressful his day was, he always spent an hour with his wife in the evening to stay close and connected: he called it “Betty Time”. Betty had a love of reading, conversation, politics, and even enjoyed the occasional Hollywood scandal. Like many of the Mahonys she could also tell a great story. She also had a beautiful, memorable laugh.

Sadly Jada passed away suddenly in 1984 after just two years of retirement. The line to attend his funeral at Brown’s Funeral Home was a block and half long. During his brief retirement Jada was very busy to say the least: he enjoyed golf, poker with his buddies, remained active with the AmVets, was a member of the Nutley Planning Board, Nutley High boosters Club, American Lung Ass., marched in the memorial Day parade, played with his grandchildren, and spent time down the shore. But more than anything else he spent his time loving Betty and driving her crazy as well.

After suffering the effects of cancer for several years Betty passed in 1988. She did so courageously and with perspective. She spent her final years with her daughters and their children. (To read some letters Betty wrote during this time go to the Family Letters page)

However, the legacy of Betty and Jada lives on today through their three daughters and their families:

-Carol lives in Summit with husband Gerry Gardner whom she married in 1970. She works at NYU and Gerry continues to practice law. Mike is an paramedic (he has some very exciting stories) and also an aspiring writer living in Brooklyn. Laura and her husband Jay Remington, live in Winchester MA with their two boys, Pete and Patrick. Both Mike and Laura are graduates of Brown University.

-Kathleen married Frank Law in 1974, and had two daughters, Erin and Kate. Erin is an attorney and lives in Hoboken; Kate and her husband Terry Landers and daughter Aubrey live in Annandale, NJ. In addition to being a new mom Kate is an account executive with Johnson and Johnson. Kathleen and her partner Susan Krause live in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

-Lizanne lived for a time in Moose Pass AK, and following her divorce, moved back to NJ with daughter Pia. After every broken heart and bad date she had during high school, Jada had suggested to Lizanne: “What about that Chuck Gruber?” which, for Lizanne, meant she’d do just the opposite, so following high school, Lizanne and Chuck went their separate ways, never becoming more than buddies. Of course, Jada & Betty were right all along, and Chuck and Lizanne were married in 2009 at their home in St. Paul, MN. Betty & Jada adored him. Chuck remains content that he’s the only man on earth who is guaranteed to have had Betty & Jada’s blessing at the wedding. Lizanne remains astounded that her parents were right. (But not really.)

*Editors note: Much of the Ciccone family summary was provided courtesy of Lizanne Ciccone Gruber.

Enjoy this pictorial tribute.

Betty and mom Fanny in 1923