Fire Victim, 62, Remembered as 'Effervescent' Animal Lover

On Saturday morning, Frank Monte Magno telephoned Jean Callan to arrange a date for later in the week.

For the last two years, Monte Magno and Callan  — who grew up together in Hoboken — had a standing weekly date at a restaurant in the Mile Square. 

But that morning was the last time the pair would ever speak.

Later that day, Callan, 62, was the victim of a fire in her apartment on the 11th floor of Marine View Plaza. She succumbed to her wounds on Sunday.

"We were supposed to go out tonight," said Monte Magno on Wednesday afternoon. "Tonight we were supposed to go to Leo's."

Leo's Grandevous was one of the couple's staples, as well as Oddfellow's Rest — Callan's favorite — before it closed.

Monte Magno, 63, knew Callan since she was 16 when they both were growing up in Hoboken. For the last two years, he saw Callan approximately once a week.

"She was a wonderful person," Monte Magno said. Mostly, he remembers "how easy it was to date her."

Callan, an animal lover, had three dogs, was divorced and didn't have any children.

"We called her dogs her kids," said Monte Magno. 

Spending time with Callan, who worked as a dental hygienist in New York City, was always an upbeat experience, Monte Magno said. 

"To say 'bubbly' would be short on her personality," he said. "She was absolutely effervescent."

Learning about Callan's death was tough for Monte Magno, who at first felt a sense of "disbelief." He heard about the incident on Saturday night from a co-worker and spoke to Callan's brother, Steven DeCeuster of Laurence Harbor, the next day.

"He was destroyed," Monte Magno said. "It was just the two of them left."

Callan's funeral is scheduled for Thursday night at the Lawton-Turso Funeral Home on Washington Street. 

Monte Magno said he asked for a fire report, but hadn't received one yet. It's still unclear what caused the fire.

But, said Monte Magno, "I'd like to find out."