First pastor remembered for love of faithful, unborn, Christmas

By Paul J. Peyton Correspondent

PORT MURRAY — Father Albert Roca, 94, was remembered at a memorial Mass at St. Theodore Church Feb. 21 as some one who loved being a priest and preach ing about the true meaning of the Holy Eucharist. Father Roca, who died Feb. 9 in New Port Richey, Fla., had served as the first pastor at St. Theodore Parish, from 1986 to 2003, when he retired.

The memorial service took place at the same time Father Roca’s funeral Mass was being held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, New Port Richey, at the request of his family.

In his homily, Father Anthony M. Siri anni, who succeeded Father Roca as pastor of St. Theodore’s, recalled his “love for children, his love of the unborn, his love of Christmas…and also his love of art.”

“If you would go down to the cafete ria [of the shuttered Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville], you would see his art work. And most of his artwork for Christ mas, the ones he loved the most, [were] Disney [themed],” Father Sirianni recalled.

“He just had that love and that was something when he came up here [to St. Theodore’s]…he found love of people, but he was also a perfectionist…He had to put the [Christmas] decorations up by himself [as] everything [had to be] in its proper place. And everything had to be put away in its proper place.”

He said Father Roca “realized that there was something very magical and mystical in the Eucharist” and that he wanted Catholics to understand “the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist” through his preaching. Father Sirianni also noted Father Roca’s “love of priesthood, his love of saying Mass.” In his first weeks as pastor at St. Theodore’s, Father Sirianni said people would stop

Obituary

Joseph Parish, Washington Township, and Dean of the Morris Canal Deanery, concelebrated, representing Bishop James F. Checchio.

Born to the late Constance Mellilo and Costantino Roca, Father Roca was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he attended public schools and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. He worked for 15 years as a design draftsman in New York City in the mechanical engineering field. Father Roca attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute of Engineering [now Polytechnic Institute of NYU] in the evenings, while he was working.

“He interrupted his work experience for approximately two years from January, 1954, through December, 1955, to be a Trappist monk at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass.,” wrote longtime parishioner Jeanie Szamettel in a tribute she prepared of Father Roca’s life and read by Parish Secretary Mary Kovacs. real estate agent. everyone who gave so much of their time and energy, patience, pledges and hard work, this was a truly overwhelmingly and emotionally beautiful time in our lives,” Kovacs said in reading the tribute.

Families for the dioceses of Metuchen and Paterson.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chorba was the daughter of Joseph and Annette Scifo. Raised primarily in Garfield, she was a 1973 graduate of Paramus Catholic High School. She studied political science at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where she earned a bachelor’s degree.

While both were working at Spa 23 in Pompton Plains in the late 1980s, Kim met John Chorba. The two fell in love, and married Oct. 15, 1989. Settling in Pompton Plains, the couple had two sons, John and Dillon.

Father Roca enrolled at Holy Apostles College, Cromwell, Conn., from 1970 to 1973, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. He studied at Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md., from 1973 until 1977, receiving a Master of Divinity degree.

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Trenton May 21, 1977 at the age of 49, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Trenton, by Bishop George W. Ahr. He served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish, Middlesex, from June 1977 to November 1978, and at Our Lady of Victories Parish, Sayreville, from December 1978 to September 1986.

As a longtime Member of Holy Spirit Parish, Pequannock, faith was central to her life. With a Catholic practice formed from her Italian American roots, Kim held tightly to her beliefs and was devoted to the Blessed Mother.

Since childhood, Kim held a long appreciation for the arts, and most specifically, theater. She was an employed actor in her 20s, and later refined her skills as an accomplished theater director. Chorba opened an acting school to train young actors in the arts and in life.

He was parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s Church, Washington Township, prior to his appointment as administrator at St. Theodore’s Oct. 1, 1986.

“We were privileged to attend the installation of Father Al as [the] first Pastor of St. Theodore’s at Mansfield Township School by Msgr. Luisini at the 5 pm Mass on Saturday, March 14, 1987,” recalled Szamettel.

Szamettel, who was unable to attend the memorial service, recalled fondly Father Roca celebrating the first Mass at St. Theodore’s: “On Saturday, August 5, 1990, Father Al celebrated our first Mass in our beautiful new church.

Frances D. Chorba, known to all as Kim, who worked for many years as an advocate for childhood education as the director for Catholic School Families for the dioceses of Metuchen and Paterson, died at home March 5. She was 67.

Chorba was also the director of the New Jersey Network of Catholic Schools

Her extended family and friends were a focal point of her life, and she delighted in entertaining them at her home. She was an exceptional cook, and enjoyed spoiling those she loved with her amazing dishes.

In the 1990s, she worked as the director of Training and vice president for a financial investment firm in Montvale.

In recent years, she was a licensed

As a longtime resident of Pequannock Township, she was an active community servant who believed strongly in giving back. She spent 16 years on the Board of Directors at Hearle Village in Pequannock, and also volunteered for the Pequannock Township Flood Committee for more than a decade.

She was a court-appointed mediator for the Morris/Sussex Vicinage.

She is survived by her husband, John; sons, John Chorba and his wife Dana, and Dillon Chorba and his fiance Jamie Cotone; her sister, Mary Ann Roberts (late husband, Lou); her brother, Joseph Scifo and his wife Yolanda; her mother-in-law, Marjorie Chorba and her late husband John; her brothers-in-law, Thomas Chorba and his wife Ann, Michael Chorba and his wife Allison, and Joseph Chorba and his wife Maryann; her nieces and nephews, Tiffany, Natascha, Corinne, Esther, Donnie, Lacey and her husband Alex, Louis and his wife Maria, Megan, Ryan, Giulia, and Gabriella; and her great-nieces and nephews, Aria, Hudson, Gemma, Luca and Kaia.

She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Annette Scifo.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Spirit Church, Pequannock, March 24. Cremation was private.

Arrangements were handled by M. John Scanlan Funeral Home, Pompton Plains

NEW BRUNSWICK — Seventy-yearold Jerry Auriemma was suffering from radiation cystitis with hematuria, a complication involving blood in the urine that was a result of his radiation treatment for prostate cancer three years prior. While Auriemma’s radiation treatment was necessary to cure his prostate cancer, the procedure had damaged the blood vessels in his bladder.

“My condition caused me a lot of anxiety. When you see blood, you panic,” said Auriemma.

Auriemma’s situation caused him to return to his doctor, who recommended hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help new blood vessel formation in his bladder. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, offered at The Wound Care Center® and Hyperbaric Services at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, involves the use of medical oxygen administered in a pressurized chamber at levels higher than typical atmospheric pressure. The pressure in the chamber helps oxygen dissolve more rapidly into the blood, advancing its absorption into damaged tissues and promoting healing. The therapy can be used for a variety of conditions—from radiation injuries like Jerry’s — to wounds such as foot ulcers, certain serious infections, and other illnesses.

“When I called Saint Peter’s to make an appointment, they got me in for an