Funeral Arrangements Set For Teen Lost in Budd Lake

What a few days ago was unthinkable, friends and family are now faced with the reality of saying goodbye to Nicholas Michael Cianciotto, III, 15, of Mt. Olive, one of two teenagers who died after falling into Budd Lake Monday night. 

According to the release from the Leber Funeral Home in Chester, the family received visitors Friday at St. Jude Parish in Budd Lake.

A funeral mass for Cianciotto is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Jude. Interment is scheduled to take place at Christ the King Cemetery in Franklin Lakes.

A post on the Mt. Olive Bus Drivers public facebook page said that overflow parking will be available at Turkey Brook Park from 5 p.m. on and that bus drivers are donating their time to shuttle people back and forth. The post also thanks the Mt. Olive Board of Education for donating the use of the buses.

The biography provided by Leber said that Cianciotto was born on May 16, 1997 in Hackensack, was raised in Bogota and lived the past 9 years in Budd Lake. Cianciotto was a sophomore at Mt. Olive High School. Most of all, Cianciotto loved his family and spending time with friends.

The bio further said Cianciotto is survived by his mother and father Nicholas Jr. and Judith Cianciotto; brothers Jonathan and Anthony; grandparents Connie and her husband Klaus Nonn, Nicholas Sr. and Rosemarie Cianciotto; great-grandmother Grace Manarevic; and by many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who all loved him very much.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations towards funeral expenses to the Nicholas Cianciotto Fund, c/o PNC Bank, 3 Naughright Rd, Hackettstown, NJ 07840.

Additionally, a GiveForward fund has been set up in Cianciotto’s name to help the family.