Obituary of Harold Lanzoni

Harold Lanzoni, 93, of Lawrenceville, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at The Meadows at Lawrence, Lawrenceville, NJ. Born in Trenton, NJ, Harold was a longtime resident of Lawrenceville. He was a Veteran of the Korean Conflict, having proudly served his country with the US Army. Harold was a career employee at D&W Blueprint/K&E, where he was a reprographic specialist. Harold was a man of faith and a prayerful person who's entire life was in service of the church of St James (later Incarnation-St. James) in many ways, most notably as an usher at the early Sunday Italian Mass. He was an annual retreatant at the San Alfonso Retreat House. He started attending when he was a teen and continued for 66 consecutive years, with one notable exception: for the two years when he served in active duty during the Korean Conflict. Harold was a man of the arts: Artist: He was offered a scholarship to art school upon completion of junior college but declined it in order to uphold his self-imposed commitment to support his parents. Three of his paintings are held by each of his children: A portrait of his mother (oil paints), which he completed in 9th grade; a replica of Paul Gaugin's “Tahitian Landscape”(oil paints) commissioned by his art teacher in junior college; and the third is a portrait of a wounded Jesus with a stained glass background entitled “This Is My Jesus” (pastels), which was displayed at the St. James Rectory in Trenton for several years. Incidentally, with respect to his “Tahitian Landscape,” Harold and his sister Edith found the painting in an antique shop in New Hope, PA in the 1970s; he was always amused that he had found and bought back his own painting. Amateur Chef: Harold had a love of food, both eating and cooking. He lived faithfully by the motto “Never trust a skinny cook.” He read cookbooks like most people read novels and then applied his creativity, personality, and imagination to develop his own “concoctions.” Among these, his Dad's Manhattan Clam Chowder is a perennial favorite. While Harold was particular and deliberate with his menu offerings, on one occasion, he had to react to an unexpected bumper crop of zucchini from his expansive home garden. As a result, his family was subjected to a onslaught of zucchini-based dishes and products for several weeks as wasting food was never an option. Thankfully, Big H's Zucchini Pudding never reappeared on a menu since. His culinary skills were a widely sought out service. In addition to cooking for several St. James Communion Breakfasts, Harold was the sole cook for one week over several years at his brother-in-law Ernie's hunting club in Powell, PA, creating a unique menu and incorporating the hunters' conquests. For several years beginning in the mid 1980s, Harold made special Valentine's dinners for the “special ladies in his life.” Each year he designed personalized invitations, planned and printed a unique menu, and cooked and served his special guests donned in his trademark Valentine's Day red bow tie. When he wasn't preparing gourmet meals, Harold was content to prepare and enjoy his simple and unassuming “Daddy Sandwiches.” Maker of Libations: His creativity was not limited to art and culinary interests. Harold expanded his experimentation into the world of wines and liqueurs, the former included the exotic Dandelion Wine and the latter resulted in a wide variety of flavors, much of the ingredients for which he was proud to have grown himself on “The Lanzoni Estate.” He also designed the bottle labels, unique for each variety. The last liqueur that he prepared was bottled in 2013, which was a “marriage” of figs from his yard with black walnuts, named Due Gatti (Two Cats) and prepared specifically in anticipation of his and Grace's 60th wedding anniversary celebration. Upon visiting the Lanzoni house, it was customary to be offered a libation by “H.” Vocalist. A natural tenor, in his younger years, he sang in school plays, in quartets, and quintets. He was never shy about raising his voice in song and praise in Mass. Even in his later years, he'd take advantage of any opportunity to join in a sing-along or simply help carry the tune of a familiar song during a car ride. Harold was a consummate jester, lover of puns, and connoisseur of the Dad Joke. He's the originator of a library full of fabricated words and sayings that remain legend and in use within the family, including the elusive color “Sky-Blue-Pink,” several recognizable toasts and salutations, and the dismissive but often wise “You can't see it from an airplane.” Harold learned to use a computer at the tender age of 70, which opened up a whole new world for him to apply his creative skills. He quickly used his newfound skill to make custom greeting cards, invitations, and prayer books for family and his “church ladies.” Son of the late Amadeo and Assunta Lanzoni, brother of the late Robert, Edgar, Albert, Irvin and Eugene Lanzoni, Edith Pellegrino, Mary D’Ambrose, and Nellie Zanoni; special niece Nancy Lanzoni; and his wife of 67 years Grace DiMemmo Lanzoni. He is survived by his children Thomas Lanzoni (Sandy), Loretta Lanzoni Schreffler (Owen), and Harold Lanzoni (Michele); his grandchildren, Jordan, Tyler and Colin Lanzoni, Amelia Cox (Dylan) and Christina Lanzoni (Quinn); his great-grandchildren, Aria Grace and Elliot Cox; and his special nephews and nieces: Michael Lanzoni, Barbara and Frank Coyle; Dana Coyle Orr (Calder), Aster and Silas Orr; Danielle Coyle Boccella (Dominic) and Cordelia Boccella. His funeral will begin on Friday, September 1, 2023, at 9:00AM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00AM at St. James- Incarnation Parish, 29 East Paul Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08638. Entombment will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery Mausoleum, Hamilton, NJ. Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday evening from 6-8PM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Incarnation-St. James Parish, 1545 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08618 or to San Alfonso Retreat House 755 Ocean Ave, Long Branch, NJ 07740, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.