Peter Caruso

Peter Caruso, 97, of Clifton, New Jersey, passed away Thursday, January 9, 2025 at home with family at his side. 

Peter was born April 4, 1927 in Ferruzzano, a tiny mountain village on the Ionian sea, in the Province of Reggio Calabria, Italy.  He lived with his mother, Teresa and an older brother, Vincent, in a one-room stone house.

In order to help support this household, Peter became apprenticed to the village tailor at 9 years of age. By 1941 Peter had mastered the art of the needle and thread, but the economic and political climate of the time made the tailor’s art a luxury which few villagers could afford. Being industrious and open to new challenges, Peter offered himself as a courier for the local pharmacist. Traveling north through war-torn Italy to Milan and other industrialized areas, Peter would bring back to Calabria sorely needed medicine and medical supplies.

In 1945, Peter decided to move to the northern port city of Genoa where he could get steady work in his chosen profession. During the day, he worked as a custom tailor for an exclusive men’s clothier. At night, he attended classes at trade school to learn pattern-making and fashion design. He earned a degree in fashion design in 1947.

Having secured a decent livelihood, it was now time to start a family. As a teenager, Peter was enamored with a beautiful ‘calabrizella’, a distant cousin whom he had known all his life. He courted Carmela Victoria Custureri until they wed in September of 1950 in Ferruzzano, R.C.  The newlyweds immediately set up a household in Genoa where Peter continued to work as a tailor. It was there that they had their first son and daughter.

The desire to make a better life compelled Peter to uproot his young family when the opportunity to emigrate to the United States presented itself. Like countless Italians before them, they set sail aboard Andrea Doria on March 29, 1956 bound for the “New World”. The Italian steamship docked in New York 8 days later. The infamous collision with the “Stockholm” which caused the “Doria” to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic occurred four months later.

The Caruso family settled in Jersey City, New Jersey in a rented two-bedroom apartment on Duncan Avenue. The exploitation of immigrants was common and Peter was no exception. As a pre-condition to renting the tenement apartment, he was obligated to take out the trash for every one of the six families living there; a task he performed without question, twice per week for two years.

Wasting no time, Peter found suitable work in the garment center of New York City. His ultimate goal was to open his own custom tailor shop. In relentless pursuit of this dream, Peter worked two jobs, 14 hours per day. Seeing his children awake was a treat he seldom allowed himself. His tenacity and drive bore fruit in September of 1957 with the opening of his first shop, Marileather Fashions in Passaic, New Jersey. The company, started with $2,000.00 of his savings, opened its doors less than 18 months after his arrival in the U.S. Beginning with hand-stitched, custom made leather gloves, Peter soon put his creative talents into designing and manufacturing a line of high-quality, custom made, fashion leatherwear at a time when leather garments were reserved almost exclusively for motorcyclists.

By 1972, Peter’s shop employed 60 people manufacturing suede and leather garments for a number of national retailing chains. In 1974 his status within the leather garment industry was confirmed by his receipt of the “Designer of the Year” award from the Leather Industry Council.

By the early 1980's Peter Caruso Leatherwear, Inc. maintained two facilities in Passaic, New Jersey employing approximately 145 people producing leather outerwear and as well as cloth suits and coats.

While overseeing the business, Peter still found time for charity and community work. He served on the “Comitato Degli Italiani all’Estero” and as that committee’s Commissioner of Youth Sport; he was a trustee of the Italian American Political Action Committee; a member of the Lodi Chapter of UNICO; a founding member of the “Ferruzzano Club of America”; a consultant to the Calabria Region; the U.S. representative to the “Calabresi nel Mondo”; and served as Chairman of the 50th Anniversary Fundraising event for Boys’ Towns of Italy. He was the NIAF Area Coordinator for Southern Italy.

For his dedication and commitment to the betterment of Italian-Americans relations and his exemplary career he was knighted by the President of Italy, receiving the title of “Cavaliere” in June of 1986.  He was promoted to the rank of “Cavaliere Ufficiale” in 1994 and attained the rank of “Grande Ufficiale” in 2014.

He was predeceased by one daughter, Margaret Caruso; one grandson, Jonathan Caruso and his brother, Vincent Caruso.

Survivors include: his beloved wife of 74 years, Carmela V. (nee Custureri); six children, Dominic Caruso, Esq. (Eileen), Mary Caruso, Theresa Blancone (Michael), Elena Gryczko (Joseph), Lisa Caruso, and Robert P. Caruso, MD (Brooke); eight grandchildren, Justin, Christina, Diana, Daniela, Jessica, Callan, Chiara, and Revlyn; and four great-grandchildren, Giana, Bella, Giorgia and newborn Robert [Jan. 6, 2025].

Memorial visitation will be held Sunday, January 12, 2025 from 2:00 to 8:00 pm at Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton.  A Mass will be held Monday, January 13, 2025 at 11:00 am at St. Philip the Apostle R.C. Church, 797 Valley Road, Clifton. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Visit www.bizubquinlan.com to leave condolences on the Tribute Wall section of the online obituary.