Jeronimo D Rutzen

Mr. Jeronimo D. Rutzen, 61 entered the arms of the Lord on Monday, January 30, 2023.

We respectfully request that no one arrive at the funeral home prior to the posted visitation times, so as not to intrude on the family’s private time. 

Family and friends are invited to the memorial visitation in the Kowalski Funeral Home, 515 Roselle Street, Linden on Sunday, February 5^th. from 2:00-4:00PM.  There will also be another celebration of Jeronimo’s life to be held for his family and friends in Puerto Rico at a future date.  The cremation in Rosehill Crematory, Linden was private.

Jeronimo, the son of the late Nivea Callejas Rutzen and the late Gustavo Rutzen was born in Havana, Cuba.  He went to Puerto Rico in 1962 and resided there until moving to the mainland of the United States in 2018, settling in Eatontown, New Jersey.

Jeronimo received his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. He went on to work in different industries in Puerto Rico, working on circuit breakers with Westinghouse and Eaton, and glucose fingerstrips with Johnson and Johnson. He then moved to Medtronic in Eatontown, New Jersey working as a manufacturing supervisor in the production of allograft tissues for spinal, orthopedic, sports medicine, and dental applications.

In his spare time, he made sure to make the most out of life and enjoy himself.  Soccer was his passion, both with the United States and International leagues.  He loved to watch it live or on the television.  Jeronimo’s was a season ticket holder at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey where at the home games, he cheered on the New York Red Bulls of the Major League Soccer. His favorite team was FC Barcelona and would have no issues going into hour long debates to prove why Messi is the greatest soccer player of all time.

Jeronimo enjoyed the culinary pairing of various beers and wines, whether it was at a local festival, a microbrewery showcasing artisan brews or the different vineyards and wineries throughout the area.  This hobby also lent itself well to his other favorite pastime of traveling and sightseeing.  His travels have been far and wide, including trips to Inverness, Scotland in search of the Loch Ness Monster, scouring the loveliness of Spain and Portugal, gleaning the wealth of information at the many US historical sights, indulging the areas of the Middle East cultures, including Saudi Arabia or sailing the high seas on one of the many cruises that he enjoyed.  Jeronimo was also very passionate about Puerto Rico's status. He met with US representatives in Capitol Hill to discuss Puerto Rico's situation and to work in making concrete actions to improve it.  Technology and gadgets have always piqued his interest, whether it be Alexa, Google home, random tech apps or the flying of drones.  Jeronimo was also an avid collector of analog watches.  When he wanted to find a bit of peace and quiet, a nice bicycle ride was always on his horizon. 

Jeronimo is survived by his two sons, Dieter G. Rutzen and Johannes Rutzen, his two brothers, Gustavo Rutzen and his wife, Aurora and Hans Rutzen; his sister, Ana Martha Rutzen; his companion, Isabel Sousa and several nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Jeronimo was always a whirlwind of activity, and his interests were ever expanding.  He always made time for his family and friends because even with all of his hobbies, that love for his inner circle was never ending and family was more important to him than anything else.  Jeronimo will be deeply missed, but he will never be forgotten.

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