The Honorable Benedict Robert Nicosia, 101, passed away peacefully at home July 9, 2022. Judge Nicosia was born to Robert and Anna (Carotenuto) in Brooklyn, New York, and he lived in Red Bank since 1923. He attended the Red Bank school system and earned a reputation as a lightweight boxer in his teenage years.
In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corp and served in England during World War II. After the war, he graduated with a B.A. from Rutgers University and an L.L.B. from Rutgers School of Law. Thereafter, he was admitted to the New Jersey Bar and he joined the Quinn, Doremus, McCue, and Russell law firm.
Judge Nicosia was a member and trustee of the Monmouth County and New Jersey Bar Associations and the County Legal Aid Society. He served as Mayor of Red Bank for two terms from 1962-1965. In 1978 he was appointed by then-Gov. Brendan Byrne to the Superior Court of New Jersey and sat in the Family, Civil, and Criminal Divisions for 10 years, the last three years as the presiding judge of the Criminal Division.
Before he was appointed as a judge, he served as the municipal attorney for Red Bank, the zoning/planning board attorney for Keyport, Hazlet and Millstone Township, and as an assistant prosecutor for Monmouth County. Judge Nicosia retired from the bench in 1988 and joined the McKenna, Dupont, Higgins, Stone and Washburne law firm in Red Bank as Of Counsel until he retired in 2011.
He was a past member of the Lions Club and Wheel Club of Red Bank. He also served as the chair of the Red Bank Democrats for 25 years. Ben was an avid golfer, amateur cook and author of a cookbook of family recipes.
He was predeceased by his wife of 71 years, Dorothy Laura Nicosia née Durando and his sister Eleanor Grande. He is survived by his two daughters, Lauren Ann Nicosia and Mary Jacqueline Nicosia, both of Red Bank.
A memorial gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. July 26 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank.
The article originally appeared in the July 21 – 27, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
