Sam Venti

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Joan Kress' father passed away Saturday. His viewing is today.

SAMUEL J. VENTI, 93, of FREEHOLD

SAMUEL J. VENTI, 93, of FREEHOLD, died Saturday, Jan. 5, at The Manor, Freehold Township. Mr. Venti was born in Vineland and had resided in Freehold for over 70 years. He was employed by the Monmouth County Library before his retirement. Prior to that he was employed at the A.& K. Karagheusian Rug Mill, Freehold. Mr. Venti was a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Freehold, an exempt member of Engine and Hose Company No. One of the Freehold Fire Department, and a member of the Freehold Fire Department Exempt Firemen's Association, a life member of B.P.O.E. No. 1454, Freehold, and a member of the Freehold Township Senior Citizens Club. While he was employed at the Karagheusian Rug Mill, he was one of the early members of the Freehold First Aid Squad.

His first wife, Esther McMahon Venti, died in 1979. A brother, Louis J. Venti, died in 2004; and a son, Robert Venti died in 1942 at one year of age. Surviving are his wife, Doris Greathouse Venti; a son, Donald Venti of Florida; a daughter and son-in-law, Joan and Edward Kress of Freehold; two step-children, Marie Kunez of Red Bank and David Greathouse of Las Vegas, Nev.; a sister, Lucy DiMeo of Philadelphia, Penn.; two grandchildren, Mary Alsager and her husband, Eric and Judy Czeto and her husband, John, with whom he lived; a great-grandson, William Alsager; and two step-grandchildren, Paul and James Ritter.

The viewing will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center St., Freehold. The Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold, followed by interment at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Freehold. Memorial donations to the Freehold Fire Department Memorial Fund, 49 West Main St., Freehold, NJ 07728 would be appreciated.

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FREEHOLD — With the death of one of Freehold's longtime residents, a piece of the borough's history has also gone.

Samuel J. Venti, known to some as the "mayor of Parker Street," died on Jan. 5 at the age of 93. Venti died from cancer, said Kevin Coyne, a former borough councilman and Venti's friend.

"A big part of the town's history went with him," Coyne said this week.

A small man with a big voice and a personality to match, Venti moved to Freehold in the 1930s. For years he worked at the A&M Karagheusian rug mill in the borough, and even headed the union there during the Great Depression.

In a 2004 interview with the Asbury Park Press, he recalled how in the winter of 1936, the rug mill owners locked employees out for several months after the union demanded a wage increase.

"I know what it's like to starve and not have money in your pockets," he told the Press.

"He is one of the last links to that era," Coyne said.

When the rug mill closed in 1961, Venti became a bookmobile driver for the Monmouth County Library, then based in the borough.

Venti also served as a volunteer firefighter for Engine Company 1 for more than 30 years, and witnessed the 1963 fire that started in what is now the annex of the Hall of Records on Main Street and caused significant damage to the town. He was one of the early members of the Freehold First Aid Squad as well.

Venti counted as a friend one of Freehold's most famous residents, Bruce Springsteen, whose parents rented a house from Venti.

And in recent years, Coyne said, Venti could often be seen holding court in Sweet Lew's Hometown Cafe downtown. He was such a constant presence at council meetings that he was named an "honorary councilman" in 2004.

"He (Venti) was the salt of the earth," said Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer, who paid tribute to Venti at the council's Jan. 6 organization meeting.

Shutzer knew Venti about 20 years, she estimated, and got to know him through her work on the council.

"He (Venti) was a good, honest man. And a go-to kind of man," she said.

Venti was devoted to his town and loved it and its people, Coyne recalled. He was known as the mayor of Parker Street, where he lived for about 60 years, because he always knew what was going on, Coyne said.

"He ran the show," Coyne remembered.

"He (Venti) was one of those guys I thought would never die. . . . People like that are what make a town," Coyne said.

This story contains information from previous Press stories.