On Tuesday, January 30, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) lost a dear friend, supporter and current Board member with the passing of William “Billy” Aiello at age 47.

Billy was an active member of the automotive repair industry for over 20 years, joining the AASP/NJ Board in September 2017, and working for most of his career at Lee’s Auto Body in Avenel, and most recently at Ultimate Collision in Edison.

Billy and his wife Kara live in South Plainfield, in a house that they proudly built together, with their daughter Brooke. Outside of the shop, he enjoyed a wide range of music and movies, going to concerts and seeing his favorite sports teams – the New Jersey Devils and the New York Mets – play. He loved spending time with his family and friends, and was known by everyone around him to have a great energy and appreciation for life.

“Billy had the passion for the industry,” said AASP/NJ President and former colleague Jerry McNee. “He wanted to be better and learn as much as he could.

“Quite honestly, we all need to take a look at what he wanted to do. Everybody needs to have that drive and enthusiasm that Billy had. He always wanted as much education as he could get, he wanted to learn as much as he could – he was like a sponge. He’d take the information in, and he was looking to put it to good use.”

“Billy was an unbelievable advocate of the auto body industry,” shared AASP/NJ Treasurer Tom Elder. “He was quite a family man, and just an unbelievable person.

“I really developed a nice friendship with him over the last couple of years, and he represented for me everything I look for in a young and rising person in our industry.”

“It breaks my heart to see someone like Billy, so full of life with so much to offer…” said AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant. “Billy was witty, funny and quick to make friends, as well as full of knowledge about the collision industry. Those in the industry that knew Billy will miss him dearly on many levels.”

Billy is survived by his wife Kara Aiello, his daughter Brooke, his parents Phil and Rae Aiello, his sister Dana Clayton and her husband Robert, his sister Patty Aiello, son Billy Aiello, Jr., grandmothers Pat West and Juanita Aiello, his Uncle Neal and Aunt Mare Aiello, the Van Woeart and Parisio families, nieces and nephew Brianna, Justin and Sofia Clayton and Gianna Aiello, father and mother-in-law Michael and Hala Kaskiw, sister-in-law Kelli Kaskiw and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

AASP/NJ offers Billy’s family, friends and colleagues our deepest condolences.