We lost more than just an attorney on March 20, 2024; we lost a cornerstone of the family, a guiding light in law, and a man profoundly dear to many. James C. DeZao III, at the age of 64, drew his last breath at Morristown Medical Center, wrapped in the love of his family.
From his roots in Orange, NJ, to the life he built in Montville, Jim was nothing short of a monument of strength and love. Thirty-five years in Montville, and nearly four decades shaping the legal landscapes at his own firm, the Law Offices of James DeZao in Parsippany, his legacy is as large as it is deep.
His family—oh, his family! Five children and three grandchildren, his mother, sisters, and all their kin—were his world. His world! And how brightly he shone in theirs.
The Unspoken Void
How do you even begin to fill the silence left by such a man? The visitation is set for Sunday, March 24, at S.J. Priola Parsippany Funeral Service. It will be a time to share stories, tears, maybe even smiles that ache. His funeral mass follows the next day at Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church, Orange. We’ll say our goodbyes, lay him to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, but then—what? How does the world just… continue?
Jim DeZao wasn’t just a revered lawyer. He was the person you wanted by your side when life threw its worst at you. Scared, injured, lost in the throes of grief—he was the calm in the storm. His counsel stretched beyond legal boundaries; it was a balm to troubled hearts.
In his professional realm, no case was too big, no detail too small. And beyond the accolades and accomplishments, it was his personal touch that transformed lives. Legacy Lane remembers a man whose influence was woven through the very fabric of our community and our hearts.
So many questions linger…
What do you do when the cornerstone crumbles? How do you continue the build when the architect of so many plans is suddenly gone?
Though his voice is silent, his impact resonates. And in every client meeting, every court appearance, every glance at the empty chair at the head of the table, James DeZao’s legacy endures. Here at Legacy Lane, we’re grasping for threads of what he taught us—about law, about love, about living fully. We’ll hold onto those lessons, and somehow, we’ll go on. For him, because of him.
