In Memory of

William

Giarratana

Jr.

Obituary for William Giarratana Jr.

William “Bill” Giarratana Jr., 98, of Mifflintown, passed away at 12:01 PM on Monday, August 17, 2020 at the residence of his daughter in Port Royal.
Born on September 24, 1921 in Hackensack, Bergen County, NJ, he is the son of the late William Sr. and Sadie (Giarratana) Giarratana.
On June 25, 1950, he married his late wife, Giovanna M. “Jean” Giarratana, with whom he was blessed to share more than 69 years of marriage, before she preceded him in death on August 5, 2019.
Surviving are his children, Karen A. Tornambe of Port Royal, Lori A. Hare and her husband David and William Giarratana, III, all of Mifflintown; Janet Milewski Esposito and her husband Richard of Greenwich, CT; ten grandchildren; and nineteen great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Matthew J. Tornambe and two brothers, Vincent Giarratana, the other one in infancy making him the last of his generation.
His education included being a 1939 graduate of Hackensack High School and he attended Columbia University.
Mr. Giarratana was a proud WWII veteran of the U.S. Army Air Force having served in the European Theater.
He was a successful business entrepreneur in New Jersey having had many business ventures, especially clothing manufacturing.
Bill loved breeding and showing his prize horses. He was a master gardener, who loved cooking for his family and upholding all the family traditions that he had become a custom to, because family was most important to him.
All services are private with the Rev. Graham C. Fowler officiating. Interment will be in the Old Church Hill Cemetery, Port Royal where the Juniata County Veterans Council will accord full military burial honors.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Brown Funeral Homes, Inc., 100 Bridge St., Mifflintown.
Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Mr. Giarratana to the American Cancer Society, 1375 Martin St., Suite 206, State College, PA 16803 or to Geisinger Hospice, 106 North Derry Ave., Suite 302, Lewistown, PA 17044.