Thomas Rumana, Former Wayne Councilman, Retired Judge, Dies At 95

WAYNE, NJ - Thomas Rumana, a longtime Superior Court judge in Passaic County and former Wayne councilman, died Saturday at the age of 95.

A wake will be held Wednesday, from 4 to 9 p.m., at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday at St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Entombment will follow at the Garden of Memories Mausoleum in Washington Township.

After growing up in Paterson and graduating from the city’s school district in 1942, Rumana enrolled at William Paterson University. A year later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was involved in the D-Day invasion, according to his obituary.

Following his discharge in 1945, Rumana returned to New Jersey, where he attended Rutgers University. He went on to get a law degree from Dickinson College and was admitted to the state bar in 1950.

Though he launched his own law practice in Paterson, Rumana also worked on the assembly line at Curtis Wright to help make ends meet. By 1953, Rumana became the deputy treasurer of Paterson and served there until he moved to Wayne 11 years later.

In the township, Rumana became involved in local politics, getting elected to town council, serving all three years of his term as president.

In 1972, he was sworn in as a superior court judge and served for more than 18 years. Rumana then joined a private law firm, where he worked as a mediator until his 2017 retirement.

“In 2016, Tom was very proud to don his judge’s robe one more time for the historic ‘swearing in’ ceremony of his son; Hon. Scott T. Rumana. It was the first time in Passaic County history that a Superior Court Judge was able to swear-in his own son, also as a Superior Court Judge,” his obituary said.

Rumana grew up playing basketball and football and stayed active throughout his life. Over the years he became an avid golfer, tennis player, bowler and taught himself how to ski as an adult.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marilyn, his son, Scott and his wife, Laura and one grandson, Tommy.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959, www.stjude.org.