Livio Mancino

He was fondly known as Pop to family and wore the moniker of “Mayor” among all who knew him in his hometown of Kenilworth. Livio Dominic Mancino, a local business owner, consummate family man, longtime politician, veteran, and so much more, died a peaceful death surrounded by his children on October 7, 2025, as they recited the Rosary.

Mr. Mancino, 92, was pre-deceased by his beloved wife, best-friend and confidant of 56 years, Maureen Rose Mancino.

She was his constant companion and the two led a life richly populated with family and friends. She was the quiet, contemplative side of the pair. He was the over-achiever: Kenilworth mayor from 1976 until 1988; Board of Education member from 2003-2012 and small town political insider for decades.

He was charismatic. He was colorful. He was opinionated. He was devoted. He was the glue and the guide as patriarch in a family that adored and cherished him, most especially in the years preceding his death. He built the “house of Mancino” on unspoken principals – no one is left out, everyone pitches in and no one is spared if he felt you let him down. That authenticity and intentional style fostered respect and conversation, even when conversation was uncomfortable. He resided in a special space  in the hearts of his six children, four son-in-laws, daughter in law, 15 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren: three siblings and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Mr. Mancino was born on January 19, 1933, as the world was deep into the Great Depression. 

Mr. Mancino’s story began in Torella del Sannio, Italy. At three, he recalled his grandmother tearfully sending him off on the Italian Ocean liner SS Conte di Savoia, correctly predicting she would  not live to see him again. He, his brother Pasquale “Pat” and his young mother Assunta were headed for a better life in America with his father Michael, who worked tirelessly as a brick layer and railroad laborer to bring his family to America.

Mr. Mancino grew up in Jersey City where his mischievous spirit often tried the patience of his mother. He recalls swiping bagels from a nearby bakery and coins, here and there. But his mother, he said, “cured” him of the misbehavior with a stern hand and unwavering faith. He turned to baseball. The sport would consume much of his youth and adult life. 

He was not just a skilled baseball player; he excelled in public school and was a reliable worker. He hawked newspapers for a nickel on street corners. He washed pots at a local pizzeria. He stocked shelves at a grocery store. He was always hustling to do better and be better while making sure to always leave a piece of his earnings atop the refrigerator in the family apartment for his mother to save for him or use if needed.

Mr. Mancino attended Ferris High School in Jersey City. After high school, he was drafted during the Korean War and was stationed in Vilseck, Germany. Friends came easy to Mr. Mancino but it was still not easy being so far from home.Thankfully, his base had a baseball team. He made the team and was able to travel to bases in Germany playing games when he was not training as a medic.

The Army gave Mr. Mancino his first opportunity to explore Europe. On leave in 1954, he traveled to Paris, Rome, Florence and then ventured to his birthplace to find family left behind almost two decades earlier. He arrived in the tiny hilltop village dressed in his Army fatigues and met a man sitting in a doorway, with a dog. It was his grandfather, Chaniel, who although he had never met him knew instantly that this was his grandson from America. Other family members suddenly appeared and they fed him, housed him for the night and sent him away with a new found sense of his roots in Italy.

In 1959, Mr. Mancino began seriously courting Maureen, a girl he met at a family wedding a few years earlier and could not get out of his mind. The “bella ragazza”, as his mother had referred to her, stole his heart and they married in 1960.

Mr. Mancino had an illustrious career, dabbling in many professions before settling down with Maureen. He worked for a grocery store chain, Standard Oil, Allstate and Esso. He also owned a bakery for a time and called himself humorously “the bread man” because he knew how to make all the different breads he sold.

But “the bread man” wanted more “dough” than a bakery could give him.

He enrolled in St. Peter’s College and graduated with a degree in accounting. 

He and his young wife purchased a home in Kenilworth. He opened A/L Mancino Travel & Insurance agencies, in two locations, first, in Jersey City and then in Kenilworth. He later added rental real estate in Las Vegas. The businesses allowed him the opportunity to travel the world and buy a second home in Toms River for weekend escapes for the entire family.

While building his businesses and travel were important, Mr. Mancino also became deeply entrenched in the community over the years.

He ran the Kenilworth Carnival and was a parishioner at St. Theresa’s Church where he volunteered as usher and lector. He was a member of the Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Kenilworth Manufacturers Association & Unico. He was the face of the Democratic Party in Kenilworth for years. He was 'Man of Year' more than once.

One of the most impactful roles of his life, was serving as Kenilworth’s mayor. He had a deep love and devotion to the community forged through years steeped in the politics and personalities that defined small town life. He cared for the well being of those who lived in Kenilworth and made it his mission to invest his time and talent in the community.

As mayor, he was instrumental in improving traffic patterns for entrance to the parkway. He was savvy about keeping taxes low and he knew that every community needed to invest in its youth and made that a priority. After finishing his 3rd term as mayor in 1988, Mr. Mancino became a baseball umpire, a basketball referee and baseball coach and college softball coach. 

He was also a prolific writer of “letters to the editor” filled with his thoughts on both local and national issues.

He rarely missed a town council meeting, keeping an eye on the workings of municipal government as a citizen, rather than elected official.

In 2003, he threw his hat into the race for the Kenilworth Board of Education. He served as a board member through 2012.

He stepped down from the board as increasing issues with his vision began to affect his ability to participate as effectively as he would have liked. But he still did not slow down. 

He joined a book club at the local library. He joined the senior citizens. He traveled with his wife and friends. He attended countless sporting events to watch his grandchildren take part in football, baseball, basketball, cheerleading and theatre events or chorus events.

In more recent years, he penned his memoir. 

He lived every moment to the fullest.

Until a week before his passing, he was meeting every Thursday with friends at the Kenilworth Diner for breakfast. He was enjoying his nightly glass of wine as he watched television. He was avidly listening to audiobooks.

But when the end came, he was peaceful, living into a sentiment expressed by an author he enjoyed reading, Mark Twain.

"Death was man's best friend; when man could endure life no longer, death came and set him free.”

Mr. Mancino is survived by his son, Michael Mancino and his wife Christina of Warren; his five daughters and four son-in-laws, Ann DiGiore, Toms River, Susan Dougherty and  husband Kieran,  Kenilworth, Cathleen Hrynkiewicz and husband Darek of Somerset, Colleen Lang and husband John, Point Pleasant, Selina Scalise and husband Greg, Kenilworth. He is also survived by his grandchildren Brianne and husband Kyle Sandberg, Tara and husband Joseph Thurman, Amber and husband Conor Brennan, John and Cassidy Lang, Vitas and wife Athena,  Koby Hrynkiewicz, Ciaran and Brogan Dougherty, Christopher, Matthew and Gregory Scalise; Michael, Alexandra and Nicholas Mancino. He is survived by great-grandchildren: Carter and Carson Sandberg, Joelle, Gianna, and Olivia Thurman; Cameron and Avery Brennan. He is survived by a brother, Mario Mancino and wife Susan, Secaucus, sister, Florence DeMayo of Manchester and sister in law, Maryfran Mancino, of Florida.  Livio was predeceased by his brother, Pasquale "Patrick".

A visitation will be held Sunday, October 12, from 3-7 p.m. at Higgins and Bonner Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, N.J. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, October 13, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 541 Washington Avenue, Kenilworth, N.J.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Research Hospital, or Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, N.J.