Immigrated to America in 1971
Published August 8, 2019
WAYNE, New Jersey — Geronimo (“Ronnie”) A. Atinaja, 84, a resident of Wayne, N.J. who was born in the Philippines and immigrated to America in 1971, passed away in North Reading, Mass. from heart failure.
A leader of the Filipino-American community in New Jersey, he was an active member of the fraternal Organization of the Order of the Knights of Rizal New Jersey Chapter; member of the board of directors of the Philippine Day Organizing Council, which has held annual celebrations of Filipino Independence Day each June in Passaic, N.J. for more than 35 years; a member of the Federation of Philippine Societies in New Jersey and a founding member of the Filipino-American Community of St. Anthony Church in Passaic, N.J. He was an officer and member of the Lions Club of Bergenfield as well as a Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Perez Council 262 in Passaic.
Ronnie earned a bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the University of the East, Manila, Philippines, and was a retired real estate broker at Weichert Realtors in Clifton, N.J.
He was married to the late Marcelina V. Atinaja for 35 years until her passing in 1994. He is survived by two lovely daughters, Mary Josephine (Marjo) Faller, a Professor of Nursing, and Juliana (Julie) Atinaja-Dougherty, a retired attorney; his sons-in-law Froberto Faller and Sean Dougherty, as well as four grandchildren, Veronica, Theresa, Joseph and Anthony.
A visitation was held at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow St., North Reading on Sunday, August 4; a service followed. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the charity of one’s choice.
Visitation will also be held at the Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Ave., Clifton, N.J. on Friday, August 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, August 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Philip the Apostle Church, 797 Valley Rd., Clifton, N.J. Entombment will follow at 11:30 at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Paterson, N.J. To offer online condolences, please visit: www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
