Joseph Angelo D’Errico, a member of the Mercer County Funeral Directors Association and stepfather of Mercer County FDA member Theodore Oszczakiewicz, died on Thursday, March 28, 2024. He was 78.

Joseph, a native of the Chambersburg section of Trenton, received his degree in Mortuary Science from the American Academy McAllister Institute in New York City and began his career as a funeral director with The Abbey Funeral Directors in New York City, before owning several funeral homes in New Jersey.

Joseph owned Chambers Funeral Home in Trenton, Hamilton-Brenna-Cellini Funeral Home in Hamilton and Parkside Funeral Home in Ewing before opening D’Errico Funeral Chapel in Yardville.

He was a member of the National Funeral Directors Association.

Joseph served in the U.S. Army before being honorably discharged as a medic in 1968.

He was involved in a number of civic and religious organizations and was a member of Our Lady of Angels Parish/St. Joachim’s Church in Trenton.

Joseph is survived by his wife, Rosann; stepson, Theodore Oszczakiewicz; and his brother, Dr. Anthony J. D’Errico.

Those wishing to honor Joseph’s memory can send contributions in his name to Our Lady of the Angels Parish, 21-23 Bayard Street, Trenton, NJ 08611.

The New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund ended 2023 with more than 48,000 consumer accounts with a total value of $368 million.

The Trust’s net growth in 2023 was $10.5 million, which includes interest, deposits and withdrawals. More than $9.1 million in interest was allocated to consumer accounts, an increase of approximately $1 million over 2022. The annualized net yield to each consumer account was 1.62 percent in 2023, greater than the 1.34 percent yield in 2022.

The 2023 information is included in the 2023 Highlights brochure, recently mailed to the Trust’s 600 participating New Jersey funeral homes as well as to each board and committee member of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association and its affiliated entities. The brochure also contains more financial data such as the Statement of Net Assets and State of Cash Flow.

The Trust, also known as Funeral Planning CHOICES, has offered consumers a reliable method to prefund funerals since 1981. It is endorsed by the NJSFDA.

As is mandated by law, the Trust’s assets are fully insured by the FDIC. All funds are invested in jumbo certificates of deposit, allowing the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund to offer competitive interest rates and growth from the day of deposit. In addition, the Trust meets all federal and state regulations for the deposit of funds connected to prearrangements, as well as the requirements for SSI/Medicaid, Work First New Jersey and New Jersey General Assistance resource exclusions.

Additional Marketing Brochures Available

Additional 2023 Highlights brochures are available free of charge to all participating funeral homes for as long as supplies last.

The Trust offers two other consumer brochures free of charge to participating funeral homes. The New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund and SSI/Medicaid and Prepaid Funeral Arrangements brochures provide your families with general information about preplanning.

Electronic copies of the brochures are available for your client families at www.njsfda.org/brochures.

For more information on the Trust, contact a Trust Administrator at 800.286.3628 or visit www.njsfda.org/choices.

The Electronic Death Registration System will be unavailable from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 14, 2024 due to system upgrades.

All members are encouraged to plan accordingly for the filing of death certificates and printing of permits.

The information contained in this column is a report of the actions taken by the board members who were present during the open public session portion of the meeting only. It is not a transcript of the official board minutes or an official record of attendance. It does not address board member attendance or actions taken during the executive session that typically follows the open session and is closed to the public.

April 11, 2024

Members Present

Paul Desbiens, Chair; Debbie Santangelo, Vice Chair; Linda McGloin; Rabbi Jay Kornsgold; Jeffrey Kasko.

Five vacancies remain on the Board: three professional, one public and one community affairs designee.

Executive Staff Present

Quin Archer, Executive Director; Wendy Faulk, Deputy Attorney General; and Nicole Parelli, Regulatory Analyst.

Public

George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, and Samantha Minchello, New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, and 13 other members of the public were present.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

The Board approved the minutes of the February 15, 2024 meeting as amended.

New Business

• Evergreen Cemetery (CA# 72) – The New Jersey Department of Transportation is intending to purchase a corner of land outside of the cemetery proper to improve traffic flow. Fifteen percent of the income from this sale will go to the M&P fund and the remainder will go to their general operating fund. Because the cemetery is in receivership, it requested a waiver of the $500 fee from the sale. The Board passed a motion to move the matter into executive session.
• Assembly Bill 1380 – The bill would establish state payment in lieu of taxes to municipalities for loss of revenues due to an overburden of tax-exempt cemetery property. The bill will appropriate $66 million for this initiative. The bill was brought to the attention of the Board by one of the Board members. At this time, the Attorney General is not seeking the Board’s comment on this bill.
• Olivet Cemetery Association (CA# 368) – The Cemetery is requesting approval to use M&P funds for improvements they are making on their property. The Board stated that that is against the state statute and “not something that can be addressed.” A motion was passed to send Olivet Cemetery Association a letter to that effect.

For Your Information

• Atlantic View Cemetery (CA# 6) – The Atlantic View Cemetery is appealing a ruling of the Superior Court and sent notification to the Board of this appeal as informational.

Public Comment

Katelyn Czarnik representing Stonemor Inc. (Everstory Partners) requested an opinion of the Board last year regarding the application of Maintenance and Preservation funds. Having not received a Board response to date, she was inquiring as to the status of the request. DAG Faulk stated that she will reach out to Ms. Czarnik with an update regarding her inquiry.

There being no further public business, the Board adjourned its Public Session until June 13, 2024 and entered into Executive Session.

Ledford

Our sincerest condolences to New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Delegate at Large and Mercer County Funeral Directors Association member Kyle P. Ledford Sr., CFSP, on the death of his mother, Elizabeth Ann Ledford, who died on April 6, 2024.

Good Grief’s annual 5K Run and Walk has been scheduled for May 19, 2024 at Mercer County Community College and June 2, 2024 at Drew University, and the organization is encouraging people to participate “in memory of someone significant in our lives who has died.”

Good Grief, an organization founded in 2004 to advocate for children struggling with the loss of close family members, holds the annual event to raise money and awareness of childhood grief.

“Whether you participate individually, as part of a team, or virtually, you will be part of an amazing community of supporters coming together to raise awareness and funds for grieving families,” a statement on the Good Grief website says.

The Mercer County event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on May 19. Those interested can register here. The Drew University event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 2. Those seeking to register can do so here.