Thomas James Delaney

Thomas J. Delaney, devoted husband to Adeline for over 50 years and beloved father to James has shed his mortal coil on March 30, 2023.  Tom was born on August 6, 1932 in Jersey City, NJ and grew up in an Irish Catholic family with his brothers John and Patrick and his mother Anne, who cleaned houses and father James, who worked for Standard Oil of New Jersey and died in the 1940s.  Having an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and actors, Tom enjoyed going to the movies when young, and this enjoyment was maintained in later years by watching Turner Classic Movies.  Tom loved history and was studious, winning a full scholarship by examination to the prestigious Regis High School, where he commuted from Jersey City to NY, excelling and receiving several List of Merit and Honor Roll cards.  Thereafter, Tom again earned a four-year free tuition scholarship attending Fordham University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude, majoring in chemistry and was presented a chemistry medal at graduation ceremonies in 1954.  Tom then earned his Master of Science in Industrial Management from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1959.

Tom was proud of his country and proud to be an American, enlisting in the United States Army in the late 1950s specializing as a wireman / lineman and was also a motor vehicle operator.  In 1962 Thomas Delaney received the Good Conduct Medal and was honorably discharged.  Tom soon after rejoined Colgate as a consumer products chemist and had been with Colgate for over 40 years, working from their Jersey City facility in the 1950s and then from their new research and development plant in the 1960s in Piscataway NJ.  Tom was a diligent and loyal employee; however, he never took his work home with him.  Tom married Adeline in the late 1960s, and they were parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church in Piscataway.  Both took care of Tom’s mother Anne out of their small Piscataway apartment.  Anne died a few months before James was born, but knew he was coming.  Tom provided a safe and loving home for raising James, who used toothpaste and soap boxes from all over the world as building blocks when little and has fond memories of Dad playing catch with me in the summer, blended with the smell of freshly mowed grass and old oiled baseball glove.  Wintertime was especially vivid, with warm memories despite the cold of Dad pulling me on a sled as the sun set early, listening to the crunch of his footsteps, the occasional screech of metal sled rail scraping sidewalk, then heading home for a nice hot meal Mom made and watching Let's Make a Deal, M*A*S*H, and All in the Family while assembling the artificial Christmas tree together on the Oriental rug.  While working at Colgate in the late 1970s, Tom continued his education by taking several night classes in chemistry at Rutgers University, University Extension Division, and while Dad was studying occasionally on weekends, I would play at his feet, using his ball and wooden matchstick chemistry model set as a tinker toy.  Having valued education highly, Tom was proud of his son’s college and graduate degrees, as well as his career in the biotech industry.  Tom and Adeline continued taking good care of James, but also cared for Adeline’s parents Jenny and Salvatore in the 1980s, all living in the same tiny Piscataway apartment.  After Jenny’s passing, Tom and Adeline bought a house and continued caring for Salvatore throughout the 1980s and 1990s.  Tom’s devotion to his family and relatives was exemplary, taking great care of his wife Adeline in all stages of her life during marriage up until Tom’s passing.  Tom was sharp minded throughout his 90 years, living a full and happy life with nothing to complain about.  “I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.” - Dad to Mom & Jimmy on several occasions.

Tom is survived by his wife Adeline, son James, and three nieces Nancy Bueschen, Beverly DeSeno, and Lois Mitchell.

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