Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1951, Don grew up in the family home on Kearney Street with his Mom Hazel and Dad Frank, his Aunt Mildred and Uncle Ken, his older brother Frank and his cousin Glenn Ridler. Together the three boys learned about and enjoyed music, art, and chess.

For Don, "growing up Paterson" meant making lifelong friends from School 14 and School 5, then Central High School and Kennedy High School, although he never moved from Kearney Street! It meant playing at the Great Falls, touch football in the street and turning the mill yard across the street into an urban playground.

College followed with time at Newark State, and then attending California College of the Arts as had Glenn and Frank. This resulted in the adventure of a lifetime as Don, his dear friend George, and Frank took a cross country trip in 1969 from Paterson to Oakland in a pickup truck turned RV. Stories from that trip are apparently not for the faint hearted.

With school behind him, Don, Frank and friends, started the Maplewood Landscaping Company – grass being an important part of his life. He also loved designing gardens.

Known for his love of motorcycles and trucks, Don then turned in the 1980's to driving trucks at Island Transport and then Langer Brothers in Bayonne. In the 90's he became an operator at the Great Falls hydroelectric plant in Paterson.

In 1985, Don met his life partner at a Christmas Party and in 1987 married Lois Cuccinello. They lived in Hawthorne with his stepson Michael. There he formed his own company "The Norwood Builder" (based on a Sherlock Holmes story!) which specialized in kitchen and bath remodeling.

In Hawthorne, he also continued working on his lifelong passion of building a model railroad depicting the 5th Avenue rail station and surrounding neighborhood in Paterson. Other passions included music (jazz and rock), photography and playing the piano.

Don and Lois retired and moved in 2018, leaving North Jersey for the Jersey Shore. He was diagnosed in 2022 with a rare and terminal form of leukemia, but gamely defied the odds for three years til his death on August 24. Don enjoyed his life to the fullest, bringing love and friendship to all who knew him. He did good.

Survivors include his beloved wife of thirty eight years, Lois Cuccinello of Lakewood, his loving step son, Michael S. Dominguez of Lyndhurst as well as his dear brother, Frank Polizzi of Washington, Mass. and his dear nephew, Stephen Polizzi and his wife Kristi Diamond of Riverdale and two dear grand nieces, Bella and Ellie Polizzi.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral service at the Festa Memorial Funeral Home, 111 Union Blvd., Totowa on Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM. Interment to follow at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa. Friends may visit on Thursday, August 28, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Donations in Donald's memory may be made to Bloodcancerunited. Org.