Richard Setti

Richard Neal Setti, age 77, passed away on April 10, 2020 in Holy Name Hospital, in Teaneck, NJ of Covid 19. He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years Karen (Corbett), and his children Craig, Lara, and Jason. He also leaves behind his 5 grandchildren, Gabriella, Liam, Dylan, Naima, and Rebekah. Richard was a brilliant man, mixing his intellect with a creative artistic flair in photography, art and music appreciation, business, and with the decoration of his home and gardens with Karen. He loved the (often raucous, which he did not love so much), company of family and the solace of quiet hours spent reading a good book. He warmly welcomed his family over for a meal or celebration, but was not shy about announcing when it was time to call it a day; instantly bringing to heel his beloved grandchildren when their play reached his cacophony threshold limits in his beautifully appointed victorian themed home. Richard’s love for Karen was something extraordinary. Married in the summer of 1966, she was the one person he never tired of and whom he always wanted to be with. He loved her fiercely and timelessly, making it clear that she came first in his life before all others. Richard and Karen met at a Sweet 16 party in 1960 in their hometown of Jersey City. After graduating from St. Peter’s Prep, he entered St. Andrew-on-Hudson Jesuit Novitiate in Poughkeepsie, NY where he studied for three years before choosing a secular life. He sought Karen out once again, and found his greatest meaning in life with her. They married and moved to the Bronx where Richard completed his undergraduate studies at Fordham University. They soon relocated to Teaneck, NJ to raise their family together in a community which shared the values of religious, cultural and social diversity they held up for their children. A varied career in advertising, marketing, business operations, and network systems integration, Richard reshaped and invented his professional path several times, until he found his place at Aaker Electric after overcoming his addiction to alcohol. There, he found inspiration in helping to modernize business operations and found a community in the people who worked alongside him. Richard loved and appreciated beauty: in art, antiques, music, food (oh, most especially diner food!) and the natural world around him. Perhaps most of all, he appreciated the beauty he found with his wife. He looked forward with enthusiasm to the varied tales she would bring home from the hospital where she worked as a nurse practitioner; his face lit up whenever she entered a room. Together, Richard and Karen spent hours planning their majestic gardens together, the plants and flowers coming together as a veritable symphony of color, sound, texture and scent. Their gardens became a refuge for the family and a source of great joy over the years. Richard will be missed greatly by his children whom he loved, and demonstrated never ending support, guidance, compassionate comfort, and a welcoming smile. Teaching from an evolved agnostic viewpoint, he discussed, taught, and invited inquiry over a broad spectrum of thought. Ranging from metaphysics and comparative theology, to the history of World War II, to biographical conversations of noteworthy luminaries, practical axioms of life, wisdom, and responsibility such as, “You are going to pay for everything one way or another, so be mindful of your choices”. Richard was involved in many key aspects of his children’s lives from attending special events, sporting games, helping lead a Boy Scout troop, coaching baseball teams, and building homes for the family’s collection of rabbits. His children smile to remember the annual hiking trip to Mount Mohonk the family took before picking pumpkins at the farm on the way home each October. He willingly, with a shrug and one eyebrow raised, helped Lara build a bed to sleep on in the back of her pick up truck for her solo trip across country and dutifully carted Jason to the emergency room with each of his numerous sporting injuries. Even though he knew little of medicine, save for the tales of his wife’s daily adventures, he knew that he had better hold tight when the doctor was moving Jason’s wrist bones back into place without anesthesia. Jason never forgot that day when his dad played hero for him. He is well remembered by the lives he touched and supported, including the long term friends of his children, who he welcomed regularly into the home to share stories or tables of food. His barbecuing in the rain under an umbrella for Craig’s 8th grade graduation party remains the stuff of local legend. Richard was also a well loved member of micro-communities that he interacted with throughout the counties he lived and worked in. Given his love of food, it is not surprising that some of his strongest ties were found in eating establishments. Reflected in the polished chrome of the Cedar Lane Grille that preceded Richard to the hereafter, Jason remembers well his own adolescent surprise to find his father was as popular at the diner as Norm was at Cheers. Rich, Dick, Dad and Papa lives on in the hearts and minds of his family and their friends, who remember him for the brilliant and gentle man that he became over time. We miss you

Richard Setti

January 28, 1943 - April 10, 2020