44 / matters magazine / fall 2018 Ridge. “He was a character,” Felice says. “People who loved Joe loved Joe. But he was a button pusher. He had strong opinions and if you wanted to get into it with him he was happy to. It could be anything…comics, pop cul- ture, politics.” Says Paul Holtzman, Joe’s business partner for two years, “We think about Joe all the time. It just came up this morning. We were designing a drink and we said ‘Joe might have a problem with this. We need to do it this way.’ He’s a part of everything we do and ev- erything we put out.” Michelle Mancuso, Joe’s assistant baker and now the manager of Cedar Ridge, agrees. “He was one of my best friends and my mentor for years. We were super close. I would hang out with him, Felice and Hank and play games….He was a very big part of my life even out- side the bakery.” The memorial celebra- tion of Joe’s life – deco- rated with Joe’s quirky and vast (1000+) T-shirt col- lection – was held at the Woodland in Maplewood and drew hundreds from the community. “It was incredibly empowering for Hank to see how impor- tant his father was to the community,” Felice says. “He and Joe were very close. They shared so many of the same passions – mu- sic, horror, sci-fi....They loved all things geeky. They would go to Maplewood Hobby and New World Manga where they played Magic the Gathering and Warhammer 40,000.” Felice and Hank next moved to an apartment in a house on Ridgewood Road just a few blocks from their old home on DeHart, which kept Hank close to his friends, school and town. “It wasn’t as disruptive com- pared to other moves we could’ve made,” Felice says. “And Hank was the person who kept me fo- cused on the positive.” Living in a community where so many people knew Joe meant Fe- lice and Hank couldn’t always grieve privately. “It’s bittersweet,” she says. “Hank and I run into people who haven’t seen us since Joe’s death and we have to experience the rawness of their loss months and years later. I was con- stantly having to pull myself together on the train or in town when I would run into someone.” And every day, she adds, brings re- minders from the community of “how important Joe was to them. You lose a parent and a partner and these people who mean so much to you can eas- ily disappear from others’ thoughts.... Hank and I are constantly reminded how much people really loved and still love Joe.” Felice had planned on staying in Joe and son Hank in Maui. Joe loved Maui and vacationed there four times with his family. Fall 2016 Open House Schedule Sunday, October 2 • 1-3 p.m. Thursday, October 20 • 6:45 - 8:15 p.m. Fall 2018 Open House Schedule Sunday, September 30 • 1-3 p.m. Thursday, October 25 • 6:45 - 8:15 p.m. Oratory Prep has a tradition of excellence that is unmatched. For 110 years, we’ve supported our students in becoming young men of confidence and character. Today, that tradition still stands. Our students are versatile. Our academics are rigorous. Our culture is anchored in mutual respect and traditional Catholic values. Excellence is not what we do, it’s who we are. This fall, we invite you to visit our beautiful campus to experience all that Oratory has to offer. Come see our Blue Ribbon academics in action, celebrate with our championship winning athletic teams, meet our dedicated and friendly faculty and staff, and see firsthand why Oratory is the place for you. For more information: 908-273-1084 ext. 1 or admissions@oratoryprep.org • oratoryprep.org Preparinglivesfor thefuture? It’sinourDNA. Oratory 2018 Matters 4.675x11.6.indd 1 8/21/18 10:46 AM