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Biography - Nicholas Albert Peter Prioli
Nick was Born February 11, 1932 in Newark, NJ and grew up in Maplewood.
He worked his way through college attending Michigan State University, often traveling back and forth from NJ and Michigan by walking and hitching rides. He worked as a veterinary's assistant and married Helen Claire Gayda in the early 1950's and lived in the Iron Bound Section of Newark, NJ. He was in the Army Reserves. With a growing family, Nick began working for Schering Plough Corporation in 1955 as a pharmacologist doing research and development mainly in the field of cardio-vascular medications. The Prioli family moved to Jackson in 1963 into Brookwood 4 and Nick made a daily round-trip commute to Bloomfield and back of 120 miles for more than 20 years. At this time, the Prioli children numbered eight. The 9th and last child joined the "Fertile One's" clan in 1968. Nick joined the Schering Plough Fire Brigade in the 1970's as a firefighter in the Bloomfield Complex. He took all available firefighter training offered. His laboratory was moved in the 1980's to Schering Plough's Kenilworth complex and Nick continued to be an officer/firefighter on that Brigade through the 1990's (his commute reduced to a mere 90 miles round-trip daily). He has been active in the St. Veronica's Church parish since the early 1970's having served on the Holy Name Society as President and Treasurer, as an usher and a church collection counter. He still is actively involved in the parish.
Helen passed away in 1993 after a struggle with cancer that saw Nick as her primary caregiver around the clock for more than two (2) months. Nick joined the Jackson #1 Fire Company/Station 55 in late 1994/early 1995 and has continued to be an active member ever since. Nick took over hall rental duties in 1996 and since then has turned hall rentals into a thriving enterprise for the Company, so much so that the dreaded weekly Bingo could be eliminated. He has taken all available fire-fighter training that has been offered. He is also an Officer with the Howell First Aide Squad serving about 25 hours a week with them. He dedicates countless hours to running the firehouse hall rentals and Company Treasurer duties and in general has become a fixture at the firehouse. Nick can be found by family and company members at any given hour working in the office and is always available to the members of this Company. Nick is also the Company’s lead fire fighter trainer and also conducts first aide instruction. In 1999 Nick finally retired from Schering Plough. His retirement has not been one of leisure as evidenced by all he accomplishes.
As his children can attest, Nick also is a dedicated family man. He helped to raise our brother firefighter Matt Prioli Baader and continues to help raise Ian and Timothy, his two grandchildren who live with him. He is eternally active with and supportive to his nine children and has twenty-five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Nick is a man who never fails to finish what he starts. He lives up to every hurdle and obligation in his life - usually giving 150% of himself. He does all he does in his low-key manner and never seeks any glory. Many of us here can tell you some interesting anecdotes about Nick. His daughter can tell of the occasions he fell asleep standing against a wall he had been painting or while playing pinochle with a table full of guests. A few of us can tell you about the night he slept at the firehouse a couple of years ago for duty crew on a Wednesday night and slept right through the sirens, bay doors opening and closing, and the trucks being started and pulling out and backing in. But for every funny anecdote about Nick, there are hundreds of hours of dedicated, loyal and honest service to this company and its interests.
On February 11, 2007 Nick celebrated his 75th birthday, an event celebrated by a surprise party held by his children at the firehouse for him on February 17th. The celebration was attended by more than 190 friends, family, brother fire fighters and fellow first aide squad members, as well as approximately half a dozen members of the original boy scout troop Nick belonged to as a child and teenager. The tremendous turnout reflected the esteem in which Nick is held by so many whose lives he has and continues to touch
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