Obituary of David J. Cilio
David J. Cilio, age 52, of Basking Ridge, NJ passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Friday, July 2, 2021. Dave was born on July 9, 1968 in Ridgewood, NJ to John Cilio and Cheryl Reid. Dave earned his B.A. in Education and his Masters in Exercise Physiology from William Paterson University. For the past 18 years, he was a Physical Education and Health teacher at Park Middle School in Scotch Plains, NJ. He also was a beloved wrestling coach for various school teams including Park Middle School and the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy High School in Livingston.
He was a proud U.S. Army Veteran where he received the Patton Award for Excellence and served in the National Guard from 1997-2005.
Dave was a proud American. He was tough as hell and a relentless hard worker. He will forever be remembered as a caring and selfless person. Whether it was offering guidance to colleagues and friends, teaching, coaching, mentoring, playing paintball or developing young athletes on and off the field/mat, he always put others first and was determined to make everyone around him better. Above all, he loved his family. The world is a better place because of him.
Dave is survived by his beloved wife, Michelle, his daughters, Daniella and Tiffani, his mother and stepfather, Cherie and Jeff Reid, his father and stepmother, John and Nancy Cilio, his brother, Todd and wife Dawn, his sister Jodie Zito and husband Garrett, nieces and nephews Michael, Tyler, Alyssa, Gavin, Devan and Jillian. He is predeceased by his grandparents, John and Minnie Cilio, and Robert and Doris Herbert.
A public visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, July 8, 2021 from both 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd, Watchung, NJ.
A private memorial service in celebration of Dave’s life will also be held on Friday, July 9, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals. A Livestream of this service will be available for the public to view by clicking here.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the GoFundMe page for his family and the Wounded Warrior Project https://gofund.me/c7d5bf58.
