Obituary of Jeffrey Nicholas Trovato

Jeffery Nicholas Trovato, of Denville, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, October 6, 2018 in the comfort of his home. He was 37 years young. Jeff’s passing marks as much a life cut short as a life fully lived.

Born Jeffery Nicholas Trovato, to his parents Susan and Rosario in Morristown, NJ, even as a small child his exceptional intelligence became known to his family at a very young age. To the amazement of his family when he was 10 years old, he taught himself how to play the theme from The Phantom of the Opera on the piano and could solve any Rubik’s Cube configuration in a matter of minutes. At barely eleven, he learned how to assemble his own PC computer.

A graduate from Fair Lawn High School, Jeff went on to Cornell University where he thrived and made many lifelong friends. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha where he served as Treasurer and was on the Alumni Chair of the Omicron Zeta Chapter. He graduated Cornell with a Bachelor’s Degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.

With a passion for building electronics and computers, computer programming, coupled with his natural predilection for helping people, Jeff found the perfect career opportunity at ITT in Clifton, NJ.

Joining ITT in May of 2004, Jeff worked with the Clifton team for 14 years. Since then the company name changed to Exelis then Harris. Jeff has primarily supported the Harris Electronic Warfare (EW) business which is a leading provider of high technology solutions for the US military and allied nations in the field of electronic warfare and radar with revenues greater than $625M.

Jeff’s work ethic and personal integrity made him a well-respected and admired colleague, working quietly and unassumingly to ensure the safety of the men and women in our military.

When Jeff joined ITT he was an Operations Analyst. In this role, he designed and developed dozens of web/database applications that were central to the EW Manufacturing Execution and Quality System. He co-founded a team of programmers that supported these databases and provided critical information to the Company’s leadership team. He mentored multiple new hires so that he could move onto the next step in his career.

Around 2010, Jeff was selected to pursue an MBA in Technology Management through Stevens Institute of Technology. This opportunity was a large investment by ITT into the careers and development of a small cohort of high potential employees. As always, Jeff exceled in his course work, impressing colleagues, professors and the leadership team with his endless knowledge on all topics (course relevant and not)!

In 2012, Jeff became a Six Sigma Black Belt. At the time, this was a role ITT was placing its most high potential employees into. In this role, Jeff led cross-functional teams, driving continuous improvement resulting in millions of dollars of cost savings/avoidance. He mentored green belt candidates (a lower six sigma certification level) and spread the culture of continuous improvement.

In 2013, he was selected by the Exelis corporate office to serve as a Manager, Strategic Sourcing. In this role, he successfully developed and executed cross-divisional supply chain category management strategies that resulted in $5M+ material cost reduction. This was a challenging role due to the numerous changes happening across Exelis at the time. Jeff had to influence very challenging corporate executives.

Jeff took on a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) role for the segment in 2015. In this role, Jeff led the transition/integration to a new financial system, completing ahead of schedule. He also supported the development of, and managed all data for, the EW Strategic Plan—the company’s business plan for the future.

In 2016, Jeff moved into his current leadership role where he was responsible for Harris Business Excellence (HBX – Harris’ version of Six Sigma) projects across the EW business. He Lead Manufacturing, Test, Quality, Supply Chain, Program and/or functional organizations-teams through HBX strategies, Lean Continuous Improvement projects and Kaizen events.

Jeff won numerous awards including a 2006 ITT Quality Award, 2007 ITT Team Quality Award, 2009 ITT Harold S. Geneen Award and 2017 Harris’ Presidents’ Award. All of these awards were highly competitive and selected by the Worldwide Corporate Offices.

For all of his outstanding professional achievements, at the heart and center of his life was his beloved wife, Elizabeth Ann and his two-year-old son, Jude—the apple of his eye. Elizabeth met Jeff shortly after moving to Hoboken, New Jersey in 2008. After weeks of exchanging witty text messages, Jeff called Elizabeth and asked her out for their first date. He showed up to the sushi restaurant with a bottle of wine in one hand and a large bouquet of Gerber daises (Elizabeth's favorite flower) in the other. She was impressed! He taught her how to use chopsticks. She laughed a lot. They fell in love. Married on June 8, 2013, they gave birth to their only son, Jude Nicholas, on July 7, 2016. Above all else, Jeff was a loving husband and doting father, who looked foward to sharing  weekend adventures, outings, and day trips showing Jude the world. A self-taught guitarist, pianist, and keyboard player, Jeff also loved to ski and enjoy the delicacies of fine dining in New York city with family and friends.

To family and friends alike Jeff was known as a quintessential family man, a loyal friend, and a generous colleague who excelled at all he did. He will forever be remembered and treasured in our hearts.

Left to continue his legacy of unconditional love, hard work, and dedication is his beloved wife, Elizabeth Ann (Leahy); his adored son, Jude Nicholas Trovato; his sweet puppy Samardzija, his cherished parents, Russell and Susan Trovato; his loving siblings, Laura Trovato and Robert (Dee) Trovato; his doting grandmother, Theresa "Nonna" (the late Nicholas) Trovato; his caring mother-in-law, Marilyn Judy (Anthony) DiRienzo; his dear aunts and uncles, Jeanine (Vincent) Pizzuto and Linda (the late Sair) Aristizabal; his dedicated Aunt/Godmother Mary (John) Rainere; his loving cousins Vincent, Laura and Jennifer; and his extended family and friends.

All Services are private and under the direction of Norman Dean Home for Services. The family kindly asks that no flowers be sent anywhere. Memorial donations are being accepted for Jude Nicholas Trovato for an education fund by way of paypal.me/JudeTrovato. (When making your donation be sure to click on the “Friends and Family” button.)  If using your mobile device, please click on obituary tab on Jeff's page and scroll down until you reach the Memorial Donations option.  Click there to be directed to the paypal site. 

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