Obituary of Francis Henry Colontone

Francis Henry "Frank" Colontone, 89, died Monday, July 18, 2016, at his home in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, after a brief illness. A native of Staten Island, New York, Mr. Colontone was reared in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and was graduated from Bernards High School in 1944. He served as a technical sergeant in the U.S. Army, 40th Infantry Division, in the Southern Asiatic Pacific Theater of operation during World War II. After military service, he worked at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an administrative officer for the Department of Psychiatry at Lyons VA Hospital in Lyons, New Jersey, until his retirement in 1995. Mr. Colontone also worked as a part-time gardener for the W. Redmond Cross estate in Bernardsville for 30 years. An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Colontone for many years lived on Hardscrabble Road in Bernardsville, where he was able to spend time in the nearby woods and hills. He was a hunter, fisherman and bird watcher knowledgeable about area wildlife. Mr. Colontone was preceded in death by his first wife, Winifred Lynch Colontone, in 1995; his parents, Pasquale Colontone and Maria Veardi Colontone, both of whom immigrated from Lenola, Italy; as well as brothers Joseph and Angelo Colontone and a sister, Lena Polise. Mr. Colontone is survived by his wife of 17 years, Bernadine Brennan Oppel Colontone of Basking Ridge; a son, Francis John "Butch" Colontone of Ledgewood, New Jersey; a stepson, Thomas Oppel, and his wife, Myra, of Alexandria, Virginia; two sisters, Louise Sylvestro of Spring Lake, New Jersey, and Adelle Noe of Greenbrook, New Jersey; two grandsons, Jackson and Samuel Oppel, and a granddaughter, Mary Abigail Oppel, all of Alexandria, Virginia; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday July 23, at the Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home, 101 South Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, followed by a Requiem Mass officiated by Father Dario at the Church of St. James, 184 South Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ. Gallaway & Crane Funeral Home (908)766-0250, gcfuneralhome.com.