Anthony Vaccaro

Anthony Vaccaro,81,  Beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend and mentor passed away on Saturday, August 8th, 2020 surrounded by his loving family after a private battle with cancer.

Those of us that had the pleasure of knowing Tony know that he was a legend. A personality larger than life, a life filled with stories of empires built, lost and rebuilt. An innovator and entrepreneur ahead of his time. When asked what his greatest accomplishment was, without hesitation, he would say "family, without that, nothing else matters".  Fiercely loyal, a man of his word, the embodiment of ethics, devout in his faith.

Tony lived the American Dream, he built Bettaway, a national transportation and logistics company from nothing just grit and great sacrifice. He knew no other way and at times had no other choice. He had a natural gift of applying street-smarts and common sense to solve complex business problems. CEOs and Industry Titans would demand to meet the man whose solutions confounded their "greatest minds", and Tony took great pleasure in it. His journey is one that truly inspires.

Tony married his lifelong sweetheart, the love of his life, Betty Jane DellaPeruto in 1962. From the moment he set eyes on her he knew she was the one. Any and all comment on the remarkable love and devotion they have for each other. He would often say she was the prettiest girl in Brooklyn and he got to marry her. Their love is rare and remarkable

If you knew him growing up on the streets of Brooklyn, he was Vaccie, in business Tony and of late, everywhere else he was Poppy. At any school event he was everyone's "Poppy".  It was not unusual at "Grandparents Day" celebrations at school for Poppy to have a table full of grandchildren, not his own, but all those who had lost their own grandparents.   The Poppy of today, retired, sporting his matching khaki outfits, could easily be mistaken for a delivery driver, he was the man that happily made weekly food donations for local churches, became the mayor of the town and popped into every local bakery looking for his favorite cookies. Never affected by his success and continually in awe of it, often describing his life successes as "beyond his wildest dreams". He would always say how truly blessed he was and frequently commented on how proud he was of his children and especially his 9 grandchildren.  Little did he know that we were in absolute awe of him.

Tony left his mark on all of us, and unequivocally left his mark on the world. Tony may be gone but he will never be forgotten. His legacy will live on through his children, his grandchildren, through his business and always through his philanthropic contributions and generosity to all.  He is survived by his Beloved wife of 58 years, Betty; their 4 children, Laura Vaccaro, June (Delaney), John and Tracey (Ursini) , their spouses David Delaney, Laura Coluccio Vaccaro and Nick Ursini, and his 9 grandchildren, Anthony and Frankie Vaccaro, Daniel, Caitlin, Mary and David Delaney Jr., Nicholas, Victoria and Isabella Ursini.

Rest in Peace Pop We will forever miss you.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady Star of the Sea RC Church on Saturday at 10:00AM. Interment will be private.

Public Visitation for quiet reflection and prayer will be held at Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, 7447 Amboy Road S.I.NY on Thursday from 12:00PM - 8:00PM.  Family members may not be present.

In Lieu of  Flowers the family suggest donations be made in Anthony's name to:

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rutgers University Foundation for Adults with Autism

************The Funeral Mass will be livestreamed on Saturday. Please go to: OLSSPARISH.ORG. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on LIVE VIDEO.(You will be brought to OLSS's  youtube page)**********