Joseph Azzolina | Former assemblyman, 84
Joseph Azzolina, 84, a longtime New Jersey lawmaker and Navy veteran who worked to bring the battleship New Jersey back to the Garden State, died of pancreatic cancer Thursday, April 15, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, where he had been treated for several months.
Joseph Azzolina, 84, a longtime New Jersey lawmaker and Navy veteran who worked to bring the battleship New Jersey back to the Garden State, died of pancreatic cancer Thursday, April 15, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, where he had been treated for several months.
A Republican, Mr. Azzolina headed the Food Circus Super Markets for many years and owned a weekly newspaper in Middletown, N.J., where he lived.
Mr. Azzolina first served in the Assembly from 1965 to 1972 before moving to the state Senate for next two years. He eventually returned to the Assembly, serving there from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1992 to 2006.
A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Mr. Azzolina served for 42 years in the Navy Reserve and retired as a captain.