A funeral mass was celebrated Nov. 22 at St. Vincent de Paul Church, Bayonne, for William Charles De Fazio Jr., 63. He passed away at home surrounded by his family on Nov. 17. Bill was born and raised in the Greenville section of Jersey City, and lived there his entire life. Bill was predeceased by his parents, Charles and Louise (Linares), as well as his brother Alfonse. He attended PS 20 grammar school and Snyder High School, where he was a varsity football player beginning in his freshman year. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, and served his country for two years.
Bill was a longtime sports coach and athletic director, and his coaching career spanned five decades. He served as an assistant football coach at Dickinson and Marist High Schools as well as Jersey City State College. He began a phenomenal career in 1970 at St. Paul’s (Greenville), where he served as athletic director and set the foundation for a winning tradition that lasted for decades. He coached the football and boys’ basketball teams to several championships, and established records in the Essex Junior Football league that still stand today. He became the Girls Basketball Coach at St. Anthony High School in 1978, and led the Friars to four HCIAA County Championships, as well as a state title in 1986. He moved on to Marist in 1991, where he became the winningest girls basketball coach in Hudson County history. His career wins total of 576 was a remarkable feat, and his teams won two county titles at Marist and participated in four state title games. While at Marist, he became the first girls coach to win two state titles with a championship in 2001.
Bill is a member of the Hudson County Hall of Fame, as well as the NJSIAA Hall of Fame, and was named Coach of the Year four times. Coach De Fazio has had a tremendous impact on the young people he has mentored, and his influence goes far beyond the reaches of the athletic arena. His commitment and passion for the athletes he coached goes unmatched, and his legacy will live on as a result. He is survived by his wife Alice (Schmidt); daughters, Stacy and her husband Louis Pellagatti and Melissa and her husband James Ryan; brother of Ronald, John (Denise), Debra Campisano and Anthony (Rose); and also survived by grandsons, Derek Winter, and James, Aidan and Kevin Ryan. Bill will also be missed by several nieces and nephews, as well as his extended family and friends. The DeFazio Family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to Bill’s physician, Dr. Deverajan Iyengar. Services arranged by the McLaughlin Funeral Home, Jersey City.