Rest in Peace – Michael R Cammarota

Obituary from Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home

It is with immense sadness that we announce the departure of beloved husband, father, “Pops” and “Poppy”, Michael Rudolph Salvatore Cammarota, who passed away in his home on Monday January 6th, 2025 at the age of 56 years old. Michael is survived by his wife of 36 years, MaryJo (Herman) Cammarota, his five children, their spouses, and his six grandchildren: his daughter Brittney (Cammarota) Lodato, her husband Peter, and their children Quinn and Eliza; his son Michael A. Cammarota, his fiance Natasha Simcox, and their children Aurora and Scarlett; his son Matthew Cammarota, his wife Maria, and their children Sloane and Maddox; his son Christian Cammarota, and his son Cooper Cammarota. He is predeceased by his mother and father, Rudolph and Nancy Cammarota, and his brother, Mark Edward Cammarota.

Michael grew up in Kenilworth, NJ, where he attended David Brearley High School and played football for the Brearley Bears. It was in Kenilworth that he built lifelong brotherhoods with his dearest friends, then met and fell in love with his highschool sweetheart and wife of 36 years, MaryJo (Herman) Cammarota. As a young man, when he wasn’t living up to his mischievous nickname “Michael Michael Motorcycle”, playing football, or swimming at Nomahegan swim club, he enjoyed spending summers at the beach, something that inspired him and MaryJo to realize their dream of raising children down the shore.

Michael led a career in business, first internationally managing sales for a global distribution company, and later as an entrepreneur. When he was no longer able to work, he managed Cammarota Real Estate, his family’s generational business, alongside his wife.

As his life presented him with new challenges, one thing never changed: Michael’s outgoing personality was larger than life. Regardless of how you knew him, as “Mike the Mayor” at the sandbars in Barnegat Bay visited on his speedboat, as “Big Mike” who opened his home to his kids and their friends, or as “Wheels”, the motocross enthusiast who cheered on his sons and grandchildren in the dirt bike pits, you knew him as a friend. His presence entered every room before he did. His laughter will linger long after he’s gone.

Michael would want to be remembered smiling, making those he cared for laugh, and bringing happiness to everyone around him.