Jerry N. DelBene

It was a privilege to know Jerry. May you be at peace. A kind and thoughtful soul—gone too soon. RIP. Wishing the family strength and peace.
Your professionalism and kindness won’t be forgotten. With deepest respect. Rest in peace.

So sorry to hear and my deepest condolences to his wife Sonia and his family. I worked with Jerry as my client and as part of my firm for many years . A gentleman and genuine person who I am thankful to have known. We shared many great times together and as I reflect I have to simply smile and say may you rest in peace my friend.

I worked for Gerry for a few years at Vornado Realty Trust when he worked in Paramus, NJ. Boy did he hate that commute haha. But he loved sharing that he drove a Honda hybrid so he was able to go in the HOV lane. He caught me making fun of him one time to co-workers because he would always make two files of every spreadsheet “just in case” and labeled it with BU at the end for Back Up. He would say he was burned too many times losing files and he was NOT re-doing work. I’m sure he was still doing that at his current place HAHA. We worked side by side for long hours and he always talked about his family. At the time “Victor was always in the lab” – he was so proud of you! Andrea – he was so proud of your talent and ambition for film, following your dreams! Michael was young at the time and he used to refer to him as “my little guy”.. He loved you all so much ! I am heartbroken to hear this awful news. He was definitely not done here on Earth and I am so sad he never was able to retire. He worked so hard and deserved those years that have been robbed from him. May he rest in true peace without spreadsheets and back up files! XOX to all

Rest in peace Jerry. You have been a dear and devoted friend of ours for many years. As part of the “Commacian Crew” we have enjoyed many holidays, gatherings and even vacationed together. We held a special bond with you and Sonia since we discovered we were all married on the same day, in the same year, 40 years ago. Your light will never be extinguished. You will be missed dearly. All our love, Laura and Scott.

One of Gerry’s greatest attributes was he always had a big bright smile on his face and was always positive and kind to everyone. I will miss walking into his office to say hi and listen to all the stories he would tell (never leaving out any details!!!) and all the conversations we would have at work; he was very fun to joke around with! He was someone you could talk to who could put you in a good mood if you were having a bad day because he would see the positive side of life and was always positive himself. Gerry will be sadly missed but I am thankful I got to know him like I did.

I am out of state and I just heard the news. It saddens me deeply as Jerry was always so full of life and humor. In our youth I lived down the street from him in Yonkers, and in grade school and high school we all spent most of our time at Kinsley Park, which was also just down the street. Back then if you wanted a pick-up game in any sport, you didn’t use the telephone. We hit the streets and just started ringing the doorbells of his cousins and all the other kids in the neighborhood. That’s of course if we didn’t have a large group that was already at the park (which was often). During the summer we would do multiple activities and play multiple sports all in one day. Lots of great memories hanging out in the “North End” of Yonkers. Like I said, he had a great sense of humor and was always talking about possible inventions with unique thoughts of combining items that no one would ever consider putting together. I am sure he hit on success many times. My deepest condolences to his wife, 3 children and grandchild. Heaven is getting one of the good ones.

I sat in the office right next door to Gerry for the past five-plus years. Every day, I looked forward to seeing his warm smile and getting a big wave in the morning. He was incredibly proud of his children and loved talking about them. Gerry always had a positive attitude and was kind to everyone. He truly loved his work and got very excited when he had a chance to walk me through his most recent excel model! I learned so much from him over the years. He also had a wonderful sense of humor—especially when the joke was on him. It won’t be the same without him. I hope he knows how deeply loved, respected, and appreciated he was by all of us. Miss you, Gerry. XOXO

Rest in peace Gerry, You will be missed

Jerry and Sonia
Joe and I are devastated but we will remember the happy memories of us getting together regularly and your jokes. We will miss you so much!
Paula and Joseph Annarumma

It was a great time to grow up in the north end of Yonkers, all the way down Chase Avenue to Palisades Avenue, and Jerry was a big part of that. I was very sad to hear of Jerry’s passing. I wish Jerry’s wife, children and grandchild the sincerest condolences along with the rest of his family, and especially the cousins who grew up on Chase Avenue. It was too soon and he will be greatly missed.

After spending quite a few years caretaking for both of his parents, my grandparents, who died of old age, at 87 and 95, my Dad would often say, “The lucky ones die in their sleep.” That is exactly what happened.

He said this, in a whimsical fashion every time. He was very happy with his life, and it is evident that he felt he lived both a purposeful and fulfilled life.

We almost lost dad on 9/11. I was just a little girl, but I will never forget the terror I felt that day wondering if we would ever see him again. And then he showed up on the driveway and I cried tears of joy for the first time.

We are eternally grateful that he came home that day, that we got to enjoy all of these amazing years together.

The last text I ever got from Dad was two days before he passed away, in our family group chat. He sent a tweet of a man holding a newborn baby. The quote read:

“My children didn’t choose to be born, I chose to have children. They owe me nothing, I owe them everything.”

That sums up the way my Dad approached parenting, down to his very last day. He will be loved and missed every day for the rest of our lives.