Nicholas J. Mercadante

Nicholas J. Mercadante, 83, of Lisle, IL, passed away on December 1, 2012, with his family by his side. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Nicholas was born February 6, 1929 to his father, Dominic, and his mother, Emily. He grew up in Brooklyn with his sister, Rose, where he was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan and a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. In 1949, armed with an Engineering Degree from the University of Notre Dame, Nicholas began a very successful career that spanned more than a half-century and included stints in the sewing machine, defense and aerospace industries. In the 1960's, while at Honeywell, he worked on, and has a patent for, elements of the control system used on the Apollo Lunar Landing Module. His work is literally on the moon. In the 1970s, Nicholas led the Elizabeth, NJ-based Singer Sewing Machine Company team that introduce the first digital sewing machine. In the 1990's, while at Illinois Tool Works in Chicago, IL, Nicholas worked on the team that launched the Boeing 777 airliner. While his corporate successes were many, he was most proud of the loving family he built. His first wife, Adele, passed away in 1971, and he has been a devoted husband to Loretta, whom he married on January 12, 1974. He has four sons and a daughter, and fourteen grandchildren that range in ages from eighteen months to 30 years old. Nicholas was a devoted fan of Notre Dame football, and was the former president of the Notre Dame Club of Naperville/Lisle, IL. He and Loretta both were active members of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Naperville, IL, where they served on the Peace & Justice Commission. Nicholas also volunteered for Naperville Cares, an organization that provides emergency support and resources to local families in financial crisis. Nicholas is survived by Loretta, his five children, fourteen grandchildren, and sister, Rose. In lieu of flowers, donations to Naperville Cares, 618 West 5th Avenue, Suite B, Naperville, Illinois 60563, www.NapervilleCares.org. Funeral Monday, December 3, 2012 9:15AM from Bolingbrook-McCauley Funeral Chapel & Crematorium 530 W. Boughton Rd. (1 mi. West of Rt. 53, at Schmidt Rd.) Bolingbrook to St. Margaret Mary Church Mass 10 A.M. Interment at Assumption Cemetery in Winfield, IL. Visitation Sunday, December 2, 2012 3-8 PM (630) 759-1212 or www.mccauleyfuneralchapel.com