Dr. David Joseph Micco, Jr, 76, of Lakewood, NJ, passed away on Thursday, January 21 at Ocean Medical Center in Brick, NJ.

David was born in Plainfield, NJ to David and Mildred Micco on July 14, 1944.  He graduated from Dunellen High School in 1962, and from Ryder College in January of 1968 with a major in Psychology and minor in Russian. As an undergraduate at Ryder, David was the first to be selected from Ryder to conduct student research at the Neuro-Pyschiatric Institute in Skillman, NJ.  In 1972, David received his PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Cincinnati. 

A lover of education, and a devoted science enthusiast, Dr. Micco’s crowning personal achievement came when he joined The Rockefeller University as a post-doctoral student in 1972 in the lab of Dr. Neal E. Miller.  In 1974, Dr. Micco was promoted to the faculty at The Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor, focusing his work on the neurophysiology of the brain.  In his tenure, Dr. Micco’s research was widely published in multiple prominent scientific journals.  In 1976 David suffered a brain aneurysm, and he retired from The Rockefeller University in 1990.

David was a Renaissance man: a music fanatic whose taste ranged from Vivaldi to Dion to the Jersey Boys; an avid dancer; a student of karate, traveling to tournaments and achieving his brown belt; and an artist who loved to sketch, paint and build model ships.  In his youth and well into his 70s David was prone to practical jokes and theatrical comedy and was always the first one in the room to laugh.

David is preceded in death by his parents, David J. Micco, Sr. and Mildred Micco.  He is survived by his daughter, Nicole Micco Garwood and husband Keith, granddaughters Lila and Cecelia Garwood, his three siblings – brother Steve Micco and Joanne Martone, sister Debbie Dobson and husband Larry, and sister Mary Jean Lush and husband Alan, by nephews David Lush and wife Kristin, and Devin Lush and wife Nicole, and by grandnieces Alexis and Riley and grandnephew Jason.

David resided at Leisure Park in Lakewood, NJ for the last 7 years.

A wake will be held on Tuesday, January 26 at Sheenan’s Funeral Home (233 Dunellen Avenue Dunellen, NJ) from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm.  A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, January 27 at 10:45 am at Bound Brook Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of David Micco to the Brain Injury Association of America or The Rockefeller University.

Donations to the Brain Injury Association of America can be made online at www.biausa.org or by mail to: Brain Injury Association of America, P.O. Box 7416, Merrifield, VA 22116-7416

Donations to The Rockefeller University can be made online at https://giveandjoin.rockefeller.edu/donate or by mail to: Ms. Maren Imhoff, The Rockefeller University Development Office, 1230 York Avenue, Box 164, New York, NY 10065