Sonny wears many hats...and he wears them well; West Milford builder learned his trade early on and found the love of his life in high school Anthony Curcio is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He’s a business owner, a deacon in his church, a father and grandfather, and the husband of Paula for 36 years. But the pairing of Sonny, as he is most often called, and Paula, almost didn’t happen. Now a West Milford resident, 57-year-old Curcio was born in Paterson, raised in Totowa, and attended Passaic Valley High School. It was during his first week of freshman year that Curcio first noticed Paula. “This girl goes walking by me and I said to my friend that someday I’m going to marry that girl,” Curcio recalled. As fate would have it, one night a few years later while driving around with his friend, Kenny, Curcio spotted Paula and her friend, Nancy, walking by. The boys offered them a ride and the girls accepted the invitation - but Paula got in the front seat with Kenny. “What’s going on here? This is supposed to be my future wife,” Curcio thought. In the end, it all worked out fine. Within a week the four teenagers switched partners. Kenny and Nancy started to date too - and they have now been married for 32 years. Curcio, the owner of PJA Homes, Inc., built his own first home in West Milford in 1974. Five years ago he built his current house in the Bubbling Springs area. The Curcios have three adult children - Jamie, Amy, and Jeremy - all married. They have a two-year-old granddaughter, Madeline. Curcio started learning the construction trade when he was 15-years-old, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. He is currently a union contractor for commercial and residential properties, building custom homes, and doing renovations. In 1994 Curcio began to add a new dimension to his life when Reverend Boniface Hanley, OFM, the pastor of Saint Joseph Church at the time, asked him if he would like to become a deacon of the church. Although he knew he was looking for something more in his spiritual life, he declined the offer, but accepted a year later. Following his acceptance Curcio attended classes once a week for four years at the diaconate center in Morristown, studying theology, church ministries, and spirituality. Curcio was ordained a deacon in 1999. He now assists the priests at Mass and he conducts weddings, funerals and baptisms. He has had the privilege of officiating at his two sons’ weddings and his granddaughter’s baptism. For his daughter’s wedding he chose the traditional role of father of the bride, wanting to be the one to walk his only girl down the aisle. The hardest and saddest thing he’s had to do was his father’s funeral Mass. “The good Lord got me through it.” On the home front, Curcio doesn’t do much cooking, leaving that to Paula, his wife and helpmate in all things. He knows how lucky he is that she accepted the ride that night so many years ago. Zucchini Boats 2 medium zucchinis 3/4 lb. ground turkey 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup sweet red peppers, chopped 1/2 cup green peppers, chopped 1 cup of low fat cheese of choice, shredded 2 tbsp. ketchup 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Trim the ends of zucchini, cut in half lengthwise Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/2 inch shell Finely chop pulp In skillet, cook turkey, zucchini pulp, onions, mushrooms and peppers until meat is brown; drain. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup cheese, ketchup, salt and pepper and mix well Spoon mixture into zucchini shells and place in greased 13x9x2 baking pan Sprinkle with remaining cheese Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes