Thomas W Etts

Thomas William Etts, of East Brunswick, passed away Tuesday, October 4, 2022, one day shy of his 65th birthday. Tom was born in Brooklyn, NY and was raised in Long Island before moving to South River and East Brunswick NJ 18 years ago.

Tom enjoyed traveling cross country as a truck driver for many years until he decided to go back to school. He received his Master's Degree in Social Work from Fordham University. He was a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor (LCADC). He was part of the Training and Technical Assistance Center team at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Center (UBHC) in Piscataway where he was well known for his charismatic presentations on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and co-occurring mental illness and substance use. Tom was a part-time lecturer at Rutgers School of Social Work and had his own family practice in East Brunswick. In previous years, he worked at Rutgers Specialty Addiction Treatment Services, UBHC First Episode Psychosis Program and UMDNJ-UCHC at the NJ Training School for Boys and East Jersey State Prison. He made many good friends while working at the Staten Island University Hospital- South Site in the Behavioral Sciences Department, Infectious Disease Clinic working with HIV patients with substance and psychiatric disorders. Tom has truly been influential in the lives of every student, client, inmate, correction officer and sponsee who got the pleasure of working with him.

Tom was a member of the National Association of Social Work and served on the East Brunswick Alliance for Prevention of Alcohol and Drugs. He was a past coach for the East Brunswick travel soccer team where he coached his son Thomas' team for over 10 years.

Tom loved salsa dancing, watching sports, playing soccer, he was a lifelong Yankees fan and soccer fan. He loved spending time with his son, Tom, who was the apple of his eye. He always kept his stepdaughter, grandchildren and stepson close to his heart. Tom loved doing mechanical work on his Porsche. He also enjoyed going on cruises all over the world with his beloved wife Marisol. Tom had an infectious laugh and delighted everyone with his Brooklyn accent. He will truly be missed by all of his friends, both on and off the dance floor.

Tom was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 2009. He received dialysis for many years until he was trained to do it himself at home. Tom did not allow the kidney disease to stop him from living a fulfilling life. He worked hard and played harder. There were times when Tom worked three jobs because he loved what he did. He learned how to administer his own dialysis so he could complete his treatment on a ship, in his stateroom, while cruising across the ocean.

He's predeceased by his parents Rusty and Marion (Schefferine) Etts and his brother Robert Etts.

Surviving is his loving wife Marisol (Meza) Etts; his son Thomas A. Etts of Hoboken, his future daughter in-law Jenna Serritella; his step-daughter Danielle Lynch of Murrells Inlet, SC and his step-son Jacob Meza Baltimore, MD; his siblings Jane Caronti (Bob), Eileen Campagno (Joe), George Etts (Susan) all of Holbrook, NY and Georgia Carden (Chris) of Lake Grove, NY; his sister-in-law Susan Etts of Smithtown, NY; his mother-in-law Isabel Meza of Hawthorne, NJ; and his grandchildren Summer, Steven and Oisin.

Friends and relatives may visit on Saturday, October 8th, from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm at The Crabiel Home for Funerals, 170 N Main St.-at Riva Avenue, Milltown. A Blessing will be held during the visitation at 2:30 pm. Cremation will be private.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) at www.kidney.org or tribute to https://kidneytribute.rallybound.org/thomasetts . You may sign the online condolence "guestbook" at www.crabiel.com

The Etts-Meza family would like to thank the physicians, nurses and technicians at Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro, University of Pennslyvania Hospital in PA and DaVita Dialysis Center in East Brunswick for their unrelentless dedication and support.