Peter M. Illenye passed away on Thursday April 30th, 2026 at home in East Brunswick, NJ. He was 58 years old. Peter was a beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, coworker and friend.

Born on July 7th, 1967 in Passaic, NJ into a family of 14 children as the second youngest. He spent his youth setting records running cross country at Wayne High School and ruling the town with his siblings. After high school he took off on a cross country road trip on his bicycle, and found his way back to NJ working in fields that interested him. He was curious, attentive, caring, and loved to stay active. Over the past nine years, he worked his way up to System Mechanic I at Rutgers University, earning numerous certifications and promotions along the way.

Peter married his wife Lena in 1997 and went on to have three daughters Julianna, Elizabeth, and Kathryn. He paused his career for ten years to be at home to raise his daughters. During that time, he was deeply involved in all of their sports and school activities and could often be found in the kitchen making dinner or helping with homework. He loved listening to music-especially 70s & '80s classic rock and reggae-while drinking bourbon, smoking a cigar, and relaxing in the sun. Peter was the life of the party; he was loud, goofy, and always gave more than he had. Although he did not have any higher education, he was well read, well traveled, and self taught in many areas of study. If you happened to start a conversation with Peter, you could expect to go down various rabbit holes of knowledge for hours on end. To know him was to love him. He will be deeply missed for his generosity, companionship, love for his family, and his sense of humor.
He is survived by his loving wife of 28 years Lena (Zakrewsky) Illenye of Milltown, NJ; his cherished daughters Julianna Tiralosi (Illenye) and her husband Jonathan Tiralosi, Elizabeth Illenye, and Kathryn Illenye; his brother Joesph Illenye; his sisters Elizabeth Sicora, Theresa Gilli, Patricia Longo, Bernadette Darley, Lisa Keay, and Maryann Illenye. Peter had 28 nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by Earnest and Mittie Illenye (Ray); his brothers Earnest, Steven, Paul, Edward, Christopher, and Anthony.

Family and Friends are welcome to visit Friday May 8th 2:00pm - 4:00pm and 6:00pm - 8:00pm at Bronson & McNamara Memorial Home. The wake service will be celebrated at 7:00pm.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday May 9th at 9am at Saint Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church in South River; followed by a burial at Saint Vladimir's Cemetery in Jackson, NJ:

In memory of Peter Donations to the church would be greatly appreciated.