Funeral services will be held Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at McLaughlin Funeral Home, Jersey City, for Anthony A. Amabile, 84, of Florida and Jersey City. He passed away Oct. 1. Born in Glasgow Scotland, Anthony was raised in Jersey City where he remained until retiring to Florida five years ago.
Anthony was an icon in Hudson County. An award-winning reporter for The Hudson Dispatch and later its city editor, Jersey City Division, he was also a political columnist for The Hudson Reporter and a political blogger. He was an accomplished writer with many publications, including articles for Gateway Magazine. He was the former editor of Hudson Forum, a bi-monthly publication of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce and contributed as a business historian to the book “The Left Bank”, a history of Hudson County. For over 20 years he served as the CEO of Meadowlands Associates, Inc. in Jersey City, a public relations, advertising, and marketing firm.
Amabile was a U.S. Army veteran, serving in the Medical Corps at Walter Reed Hospital. After serving at Walter Reed Hospital he was sent to Fort Devens, Mass. While there, a fellow soldier who knew Anthony was from Hudson County and wondered if Anthony would be interested in taking his 30 day leave to campaign with a young Senator Jack Kennedy. Anthony readily agreed and spent 30 days traveling with JFK on the campaign trail and loved every moment. That was the beginning of a long and illustrious career in politics. In his home hangs a Christmas card featuring Jack, Jackie, and baby Caroline on mom’s lap. It is signed by JFK and the envelope has a 4 cent stamp on it.
Anthony is survived by his wife of 28 years, Elizabeth “Bette” Spinelli; his son, Mark Amabile and his wife Anna; stepdaughter Kim Pompeo and grandchildren Michael, Alyssa and Tia Amabile, William Pompeo and Gregory Saliski as well as many good friends too numerous to mention but who meant the world to him.
Cremation will be private.
