ROXBURY -- One by one, dozens of hulking tow trucks, some with flowers affixed to their hoists or beds, roared down Landing Road, horns blaring, all to honor John L. Del Corpo Sr.

The trucks left the Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home late Thursday morning en route to Kenvil. Their drivers, most of whom knew and worked with Del Corpo, a repo man who founded and ran Specialized Recover Services Inc. in Kenvil, wanted to show their respect for the Hopatcong resident who died Feb. 10 after a heart attack.

Del Corpo was 44 and left behind a wife and eight children. More than 1,000 people from all over the state gathered to pay their last respects to Del Corpo on Wednesday and Thursday, friends and family members said.

"Johnny cherished fatherhood, and it was a side of him we never saw coming," said his friend, Nick Del Spina of Randolph, during a moving eulogy before the trucks moved in a procession to Del Corpo's business as a show of respect.

Del Spina described Del Corpo as a gentle giant of a man. He had several tattoos, but they all meant something, Del Spina said.

"It was artwork created to memorialize a moment in his life," Del Spina said. "Some represented the trials and tribulations that he had been through, some were loved ones lost, others were celebrations like the birth of his grandkids. His body became a road map of his life. To sit and stare at them would be to stare into John's soul."

To honor the man they loved so much, many of Del Corpo's friends and family members got tattoos of their own.

"If you look around, a lot of us got tattoos for him," said Crystal Del Corpo, one of his five daughters.

Folding hands

Fred Boyd, who worked for Del Corpo's company, got a flaming tombstone and two folding hands holding a banner that read "Johnny" tattooed onto his forearm on Tuesday.

"It's tough," Boyd said. "It's real tough to see somebody so young go so fast. It shouldn't happen. I never got inked before. That should tell you how important Johnny was."

Del Corpo's friends praised him as one of the best repo men in the business. He grew up in Orange and made connections to people there that lasted his lifetime. Many of his friends also are in the repo business, and John was the best there was, they said.

"The guy could sniff out a car wherever the hell it was. He was just amazing," Raymond Sobers of Roach's Towing in Montclair said after the moving tribute at the funeral home.

"He'd break into a car in 30 seconds. He was the best at it," said James O'Connor of Select Towing in West Orange.

"He was good at tracking," O'Connor said, adding that banks and other agencies would hire him to locate delinquent vehicles.

"John would have it in a couple of days," O'Connor said.

Gary Gamache of McCarter's Towing in Rockaway said a repo man needs timing to be able to quickly retrieve a vehicle, but also to have a compassionate side.

Gamache said Del Corpo looked intimidating, but also was able to explain to the person whose car he was taking why it had to be.

"They'd walk away shaking his hand," Gamache said.

Despite his gruff exterior, Del Corpo had a soft spot for children.

'Did not fear him'

"As tough as he looked, children did not fear him," Del Spina told the hushed audience.

"Just last summer, he was running errands in town and three little girls were riding their bikes. He said they were about 7, 6 and 5. The traffic was crazy and he didn't like seeing them try to cross the street without any help. So he pulled over, got out of his car and walked each one across the street. Instead of being afraid of this stranger, the littlest one thanked him and said, 'Mister, I like the sunflower (tattoo) on your head.'"

Del Corpo's son, John Del Corpo Jr., said children would always notice the tattoo.

"Little kids think it's a sunflower," he said. "It was a flaming eyeball. He was a big teddy bear, very accepting. He's touched everybody's life."

Michael Valentin, 22, of Mount Olive worked for Del Corpo and now is a repo man himself.

"He was the best boss anybody could ever have," Valentin said.

"He took me in and taught me everything I know. He was more like a father than a boss."

Friends said that although Del Corpo was all about business, but did it to take care of his children.

"Johnny had eight kids to feed. If he didn't get a car, he didn't feed his children," said Vinny Gallucci, who has been friends with Del Corpo for 25 years. "He did his job, and he did it right."

Gallucci said Del Corpo also knew how to have fun.

"When Johnny went to work, he took everybody with him," Gallucci said. "You know how people go to the club and call up 10 or 12 guys? He used to call 10 or 12 friends to go on a repo with him."

Longtime friend Cyro Miranda said he has spent more than a couple of nights in Del Corpo's company.

"He would come at 8 p.m. and ask you to go out for an hour," Miranda said. "You'd go out, and you wouldn't come home until 5 in the morning. 'It's not that bad,' he'd say."

A million stories

Valentin said there were a million stories that he could tell about Del Corpo, but no single story could say it all.

"Any story you could say, happened every day," he said.

"He was just that kind of person. It was always an adrenaline rush with the guy."

Survivors include his wife, Patricia (Galloway); his eight children, Deanna M. Ramirez, Donald Galloway, Audra Irwin, Jilliam Kiselyk, Crystal Del Corpo, John L. Del Corpo Jr., Angela Del Corpo and Nicholas Del Corpo; his three grandchildren, Carol-An Ramirez and Dylan and Julia Galloway; two brothers, Frank and Donald Del Corpo; and his sister, Roseann Sadowski.

Frank Del Corpo also spoke during the Thursday morning service and said that, because of the strength of John's friends and family, the group would endure and always carry their memories of the late husband and father with them.

"You know, I miss my brother," Frank Del Corpo said. "But we're going to get through it."