Obituary of David Ferratti

David Ferratti, 70, of Meyersville, NJ, passed away on April 29, 2021 after a short illness. Dave was born on August 2, 1950 to Helen and Frederick Ferratti in Summit, NJ. After graduating from New Providence High School in 1968, he went on to study at Rutgers before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1970. He was proud of his service time and while enlisted he attended the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, California, where his focus was learning the Russian language, which he could still speak and understand. After his language training David was transferred to Texas, before having a deployment to Augsburg, Germany, which he enjoyed greatly. After leaving the Army, David was a true "bike bum," as he had dreamt about in letters to his brother Wayne during his service time. He rode across the country from New Jersey to California multiple times, on his Yamaha and later his Harley Davidson Sportster. He spent time working in California in a Cannery and living with friends, and had even started on the path to become a Sheriff's deputy before returning home to his native New Jersey. Not one to sit idle, David soon found work at AT&T in Basking Ridge as a grounds foreman and in 1978 he met his future wife, Linda, whom the suave and sophisticated veteran seduced at her place of work by asking for a "seltzer and baking soda" to settle an upset tummy. They settled down and, with a baby soon on the way, David joined the Public Works Department at Bernards Township as a Laborer in 1979, where he loved working until his retirement as a Supervisor in 2016. David had an immense pride for the men and women he worked with and enjoyed seeing them every day; he often laughed about the anecdotes of the young up-and-comers, and lovingly reflected on the stories of the old crew. Dave was a quiet, reserved man who believed in always doing the right thing, but he also had an exceptional sense of humor with a touch of sarcasm and a wry delivery. His family meant more to him than anything else in the world and family dinners were what made him the happiest; he loved cooking and sitting down at the table surrounded by his loving family, where playful banter and jokes would fly with the hope of getting Dave to crack up during a nice meal. Dave enjoyed home projects, gardening, target shooting, and was also passionate about American history, militaria and politics. Anyone who knew Dave knew that, although he could have a gruff exterior, he was a caring husband, father, son, uncle, cousin and friend. Dave was predeceased by his father, Frederick Ferratti and his brother, Frederick Wayne Ferratti. He is survived by his mother, Helen Ferratti; his wife, Linda Ferratti; his children: Amy Ferratti and her husband, Clint Morris; Kate Ferratti and her partner Glen Amerman; and Jim Ferratti and his wife Heather Ferratti; and his beloved grandsons Rex Morris and Louis Ferratti. He leaves behind in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends and co-workers whom he loved and reminisced about often. Visitation will be at Gallaway and Crane, Basking Ridge NJ on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 from 3:00 - 7:00pm. Funeral service will be at 6:30 P.M. at the funeral home. . The family will announce a celebration of life once plans are finalized.