Obituary of Frank Occhiogrosso, PhD.

Beloved husband, father, and academic Frank Occhiogrosso died on Wednesday, June 24th at the age of 82. Born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian-born parents, he later moved to Mineola, Long Island where he attended St. Mary’s high school and ran track. Favorite childhood memories included gathering with the extended Italian-American family at his grandparents’ Brooklyn brownstone.

Frank received a full scholarship to attend St. John’s University and went on to receive his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1969. After teaching for a year at Clarkson in upstate New York, he then worked as an English professor and Shakespearean scholar at Drew University for more than 40 years.

During his time at Drew, Frank published two collections of essays on Shakespeare in performance and served as a dramaturg to the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. In 2008, he organized and ran a seminar called “Close Readings of Shakespeare” in Stratford-Upon-Avon and later published a collection of the texts shared during that seminar. He received the Scholar-Teacher of the Year Award in 1997, the Casperson School of Graduate Studies Professor of the Year award in 2006, and the Merrill Skaggs Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013. That same year and his last before retirement, he was honored to deliver the university’s commencement speech.

A longtime resident of Madison, New Jersey, Frank participated in the Madison Public Library Minicourses program and several other local lecture programs, where he shared his love of language by talking about the great Broadway lyricists. He was an avid reader and Yankees fan, recognized for biking around town in his neon yellow helmet, and deeply devoted to his family. A memorial will be organized at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Frank’s name to the Friends of the Madison Public Library or in tribute to him as part of the Drew University Annual Fund.

Frank is survived by his brother Peter, sister Lisa Estridge, wife Jane B. Occhiogrosso, daughters Laura Rutledge, Julia Occhiogrosso and Jeanna Occhiogrosso, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Arrangements are under the care of Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, Madison, NJ.