Francesco “Frank” Conte, 85, of Florham Park and Surf City, NJ, passed away peacefully on July 27, 2021.  Frank defied expectations his entire life. Born January 30, 1936, in Minturno, Italy, to Anthony and Josephine Conte (nee Tucciarone), Frank was one of the sole survivors among several children who contracted bacterial meningitis. The family emigrated to the United States in 1938 and Frank was raised in East Orange, NJ. His hearing loss due to the meningitis wasn’t discovered until he was in seventh grade, and he attended the Bruce Street School for the Deaf for a short time. He read lips his entire life.  Frank graduated from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art and designed classic diner cars before going into business for himself. His company, Interiors by Francesco, designed diners, restaurants and catering halls, including Phily Diner in Runnemede and Addison Park in Keyport, NJ. His clients fondly remember his stick-to-his-guns attitude when it came to proposed design changes from contractors. While a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, Frank won more than two dozen national competitions for lighting, rug and other designs. Frank married Leanne Orlando and they settled in Florham Park, NJ to raise their family. With the help of his son, David, Frank built his dream home in Surf City, NJ in 2001 and retired to Long Beach Island. He spent his days riding his bike to check on his crab traps on the 13th Street bulkhead, chasing off anyone who tried to keep the females or non-regulation-sized males. An avid gardener who relished in his fig trees and tomato plants, he loved nothing more than a big pasta meal that started with sauteed crabs.  After Frank beat non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, he spent more than 15 years writing a book about his life and his explorations of Catholicism called Throw No More Stones: A Quasi-Autobiography, which was published in early 2021.  In the weeks before his death, Frank was diligently cared for by his wife and daughters and Hackensack Meridian Health Hospice. He is survived by his wife, Leanne Conte; his three children and their spouses and his five grandchildren: son David and his wife Theresa Conte; daughter Lisa and her husband Joseph Cirello and their three children, JohnAnthony, Elena and Christa; and his daughter Annemarie Conte and her husband, Andrew Kielich, and their daughters, Lydia and Cecilia. Frank is also survived by his sister, Flora White, and brother, Anthony Conte. Frank was unfailingly punctual and we know he’s sitting in heaven, checking his watch, waiting for the rest of us to arrive.  Frank donated generously to various Catholic charities throughout his life. Memorial donations can be made to St. Francis Inn Ministries at 2441 Kensington Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125. A Funeral Mass will be held on Wed, Sept 8, 2021 at 10 am at Holy Family Church, 1 Lloyd Ave., Florham Park, NJ 07932. Arrangements are under the direction of Bugbee-Riggs Funeral Home-Ship Bottom.