Obituary of Richard Borzelli

Richard Borzelli passed away peacefully at his home in Hackettstown, New Jersey on Sunday, January 28th, 2018. Born in Bayonne on September 13, 1945 Rich was active in the community at a young age as he held the position of Scoutmaster at the local Boy Scout troop at the age of 19. The youngest to hold the title. His love of geology and nature led him to pursue a life that always involved being outdoors. Rich completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chemical engineering and he had a long and distinguished career as a chemical engineer and executive, primarily at Diamond Shamrock. Rich's ingenuity saw him hold U.S. patents both as an engineer and as a plant manager. Later, in his retirement years, he was a successful real estate agent with Burgdorf Realtors. Rich and his wife, Ellen (Caddie) of 34 years, eventually settled in Bridgewater, New Jersey where they raised their family and took full advantage of the access to various wildlife preserves in the area. In addition to spending time outdoors, Rich was always building something or taking on a house project. Rich had an idea and a tool for every situation. Alongside his wife Ellen, he loved to travel the world including taking trips to Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Europe and Africa. An avid bird watcher, Rich led birding groups throughout New Jersey and always found time to search out rare birds whenever he travelled. Rich was a lifelong baseball fan. He loved making the pilgrimage to the Baseball Hall of Fame and always enjoyed a trip to Yankee Stadium. As a Yankees season ticket holder he loved bringing his family to games for many years. Later in life, Rich enjoyed taking an active role in his five grandchildren's day to day lives. Rich had a funny story about all of them and loved to spend as much time with them as he could. Rich is survived by his wife Ellen; his sons, Brett of Orange California; Brandon, and wife Patti and three grandchildren, Allie, Avery and Jake of Lebanon, New Jersey; Chris O'Hara and wife Kim and granddaughters, Camryn, Madeline of Rancho Santa Margarita, California; and Brendan (Ben) O'Hara of Laguna Hills, California. He is also survived by sister, Mildred (Dolly) Munro and husband Jack Munro of Prescott Valley, Arizona. In addition to many nieces and nephews and extended family. He is pre-deceased by parents Allie and Margaret Borzelli and his sister Joan Hughes all of Bayonne, New Jersey. A visitation will be held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 from 12-2 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd. Watchung, NJ. A closing prayer service will be held at 1:45 p.m. Cremation is private. To send condolences go to www.higginsfuneralhome.com