In Memoriam: Former Longtime Red Bank, Little Silver Resident, ’60s Sea Bright Diner Owner, Umberto Niro, 87

Former longtime Red Bank and Little Silver resident and Sea Bright diner owner, Umberto Niro, more currently of Toms River, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 11. He was 87.

Born to Nicola and Camilla Niro in Baranello, a municipality in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, Italy, Umberto was the eldest of three children. He completed his high school education and enlisted in the Italian military. He began as a paratrooper and progressed to Special Forces during his time serving his country. Umberto met and married Gilda di Nallo in Italy, and together they emigrated to the United States to settle and have a family.

“Always a hard-worker and constantly moving, learning and growing, Umberto worked in numerous capacities throughout his life, even opening and operating his own diner in Sea Bright in the mid 1960s. His true passion was aviation and flying. He earned his pilot’s license at Red Bank airport circa 1968 but was past the cut-off age to apply as a commercial airline pilot. In 1969, he joined what was known at the time as Mohawk Airlines and transitioned with them as they became Allegheny Airlines and then ultimately U.S. Airways. Umberto commuted to Newark, LaGuardia and Philadelphia airports and eventually retired from his role as an Operations Manager in 1998. Never one to sit still, Umberto worked nearly 15 years at what is now the Buy-Rite in Holmdel until he was 78, his outgoing nature leading him to enjoy his time there helping many customers in the community pick out a good bottle of wine. Umberto was deeply fond of tending to his fig trees and vegetable garden every year, cultivating heirloom seeds from Italy and taking the fruits of his labor to the kitchen to make his sauce, as well as homemade pasta, sausage and even prosciutto. Going out to dinner and enjoying a good meal and even better glass of wine surrounded by his family and friends were Umberto’s happiest moments in life. He would frequently travel back to Italy and spend months at a time in his home village with his extensive family. Pursuing and achieving the American Dream, Umberto and Gilda raised their three children in Little Silver and instilled in them the principles and values of hard work, humility, education and deep appreciation for their family and heritage.”
Loved ones of Umberto Niro in his obituary

Umberto was predeceased by his parents, Nicola and Camilla.

He is survived by: his wife of 60 years, Gilda di Nallo Niro; his three children, Patrick (Kristy) Niro, Stefania (Bradley) Scott, and Isabella (Jason) von der Linden; his seven grandchildren, Emma, Grace, Caroline, Marlee, Abigail, Lucas and Ethan; his sister, Catherine (Paul) Parmentola; his brother, Achille (Suzanne) Niro; his nieces and nephews, Paul (Maria) Parmentola, Michelle (Mario) Pati, Danielle (Matt) Niro-Sams, Nicole (Joe) Tate, James (Lauren) Niro, Jason (Maureen) Niro, Marco Niro and Giovanna Niro; and many cousins and extended family in Italy, Canada and Argentina.

A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 9 p.m.at the John E. Day Funeral Home in Red Bank. A funeral mass will be held on Friday, July 26, at 10:30 a.m. at St. James RC Church, also in Red Bank. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Umberto’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/) or to the National Kidney Foundation (https://www.kidney.org/).

— Edited obituary prepared by family via John E. Day Funeral Home