Alexandra Shaaban

Alexandra Shaaban, age 77, of Hoboken and a former long-time resident of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 4, 2022, while in the loving presence of her dear family.

Alexandra was the loving mother of Shelby Tuhari and his wife Melanie of Wayne, Julie Tuhari of Hoboken, and Nathalie Tuhari-Katz and her husband Brian of Erie, CO; adoring grandmother of: Shelby, Justin, and Chelsea Tuhari, and Jesse and Charlotte Katz; dearest sister of Maria “Mimi” Cosarca of Livingstonville, NY; dear aunt of three nieces and one nephew; dear great-aunt of numerous great-nieces and great-nephews; and close first cousin of Florin Constantinescu and his wife Elena of Bellmore, NY.  Her great-nieces and great-nephews were so precious to her and she also enjoyed sharing lots of life with her cousin Florin and his wife Elena.

Alexandra, lovingly called “Sanda” by her family, was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, the daughter of George and Nicolina (Mihai) Nicolescu and older sister of Maria. In 1960, she attended Bucharest Construction Institute School of Railways and Bridges (Universitatea Tehnica de Constructii Bucuresti UTCB). In those days, the Romanian government didn’t allow everyone to attend college, only the brightest and the best. Alexandra was truly brilliant and after graduating at the top of her class, she ultimately began a career that would span fifty-seven years in the engineering profession. During those years Alexandra was integrally involved in the design of many New York City bridges while working for three major firms: Ebasco Services, B. Thayer Associates, and presently at Hardesty and Hanover, all of New York City. She truly loved her work, so much so that, despite battling cancer, she continued to work until just this past December.

In 1969, Alexandra fled communist Romania. She lived as a refugee for a year in West Germany before immigrating to the United States where she initially lived in New York City. Soon after, she made Wayne her permanent home where she raised her son and two daughters.

Alexandra lived life to the fullest. She came to the USA with nothing but a dream and a whole lot of ambition to take advantage of the limitless opportunities that America offered. She worked hard but never found work to be a hardship. In fact she was always passionate about her work. She was crazy about New York City, so much so that she had been living most recently in nearby Hoboken, NJ which allowed her to be close to her daughters while, due to its proximity, affording the convenience of working in and enjoying the Big Apple.

To Alexandra, nothing held greater importance in her life than her precious family. She adored her children and grandchildren and was always so thankful for the special times when they could be together. She visited them frequently, face-timed often and together they enjoyed family vacations to Aruba, Hawaii and Florida where she found Disney World to be a great place to spoil her grandchildren. She loved taking her family out for dinner and one of her favorite places to dine was the Hibachi Grill. In addition to dining out with her family, Alexandra loved cooking and hosting her family. She had many signature dishes, including her turkey meatballs, cheese puffs and eggplant salad, that her family deeply enjoyed.

Alexandra was a kind and generous woman. She was so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the American Dream which afforded her the opportunity to lavish her grandchildren. She had a beautiful smile and a calm and gentle presence which will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to have been part of her life.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Alexandra’s name are asked to consider donations to:

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
PO Box 5028
Hagerstown, MD  21741-5028
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