Arduino Rodolfo “Rudy” Barberio

Arduino Rodolfo “Rudy” Barberio passed away peacefully at home on February 28, 2025. He was born on April 18, 1934, in Andali, Province of Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy. Born to Luigina (Paonessa) and Giuseppe Barberio, Rudy grew up alongside his two brothers and three sisters.

In 1961, Rudy married Maria Cacia. Six months later, they moved to the United States, starting their new life in an apartment in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Rudy lived a life defined by hard work and family. He worked as a master mason for the Union when he first arrived in the US, building his own masonry, carpentry, and cabinet-making company from the ground up. In 1966, he and Maria purchased their first home in Roselle Park, and three years later, they moved into their house on Walnut St. where they raised their four children.

Rudy had a natural gift and love for gardening, cultivating an impressive variety of fruit trees and his cherished fig trees. His legendary vegetable garden was a masterpiece of dedication producing an abundance of fruits and vegetables shared with family, friends, neighbors, and neighborhoods. Rudy was the cornerstone of all family gatherings and kept his Italian traditions alive with the annual making of wine, sauce, and soppressata. 

Rudy leaves a legacy of the many lessons he learned through initiative, hard work, and determination throughout his life. He will be remembered for his hospitality, good nature, and the life he built for his family. He touched so many lives and left so many lessons.

He is survived by his loving wife, Maria, his children: Gina, Giuseppe (Claudia), Jennifer (Gregory), and Sandra (Sean), and grandchildren: Christopher (Alissa), Alyssa, Sebastian, Adrian, Luca, Sofia, Mariposa, Sophia, and Angelica, who were a source of immense pride and joy.

Visitation will be on Friday from 4-8 at Higgins and Bonner Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave, Westfield. Funeral service will be on Saturday at 10am at Church of the Assumption, Roselle Park with entombment to follow at St Gertrude’s Cemetery, Colonia.