Honoring Your Loved One
For Over 55 Years
Mrs. Frances (Pirro) Palumbo, 94, died on February 2, 2026 at home. Born to Nicolas and Margaret Pirro in Fairview, NJ, Fran, as she was fondly called, grew up in Cliffside Park, and later moved to Union City. Fran was the third of six children and is survived by her sister Mary “Babe” Kaufman, brother Nick Pirro (Maggie), and her sister-in-law Marie Miller. She was predeceased by her brothers Louis (Ella), Joseph, and Nicholas “Jr.”
She was a New Jerseyan through and through, eventually leaving Union City for Jersey City, where she settled down and raised her family. Fran was predeceased by her husband, Bartolomeo “Bud” Palumbo in 2021, to whom she was married for fifty-nine years. She met him in the dance hall, and surely now, Fran and Bud are doing the Lindy Hop in Heaven’s dance hall.
Later, Fran and Bud moved to Ledgewood to be closer to their kids and grandkids. Fran’s grandkids were her world; not only did she scarcely miss a graduation or a summer trip to the Jersey Shore, but she showed up for the small things too, like the dance recitals and basketball games. Fran and Bud liked the arcades and the boardwalk zeppole just as much as the days when there wasn’t anything to celebrate, and the family would play cards and board games at the dinner table or organize an impromptu caravan to Mt. Airy casino. Well into her nineties, Fran was still playing the slots and testing her luck.
She is survived by four children: Debbie Manzo (Paul), Michael Palumbo (Amy), Diane O’Hea (Jimmy), and Nicole Nickerson (Robbie). Fran’s kids grew up with Sunday dinners and bellies full of meatballs and gravy, and this was a tradition she carried on as she cooked for her eleven grandchildren: Nicholas, Daniel, Brianna, Vincent, Andrew, Shawn, Giancarlo, Luke, Logan, Scarlett, and Gabi.
Fran was not only a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, but also an avid mystery reader, an active participant when jeopardy was on TV, and a lover of the nostalgic, black-and-white Turner Classic Movies.
Lovingly written by Jill Crocetta
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