Elaine J. Rendina, age 89, of Wayne, passed away on Tuesday, June 6, 2017.

The year was 1928, and Elaine was born at home in Totowa, on the kitchen table, delivered by a mid-wife. She spent her early years in Totowa. However, after the Great Depression hit, work for Elaine’s father was scarce, forcing them to sell their home and move to Paterson.

Following graduation from Eastside High School with the Class of 1946, it was Elaine’s desire to go into nursing, but instead she went right to work so that she could contribute income towards the family expenses. Her first job out of high school was working as an assistant credit manager at Meyer Brothers Department Store in downtown Paterson.

As a young woman, Elaine was always up for a night out with the girls to catch a Broadway show, or to go dancing to the sounds of Jimmy or Tommy Dorsey or Glen Miller, or a trip down the Jersey shore for a sunny day on the beach.

In 1963 she met a young man named Felix Rendina who had just returned from service in the U.S. Army having served in Germany. It was a blind date, set up by Felix’s sister who worked for Dr. Bonjiorno and Elaine’s mother Rose who was a patient of Dr. Bonjiorno. That first date consisted of a movie and then a trip into New York City for a bit of dancing in the Hawaiian Room at the Hotel Lexington. Elaine got a great impression of Felix and, from that day on, his phone never stopped ringing! Eventually Felix proposed marriage to Elaine at her parent’s home and a short time later, on Sunday, September 27, 1964, the loving couple married at St. Gerard’s Church in Paterson. After a reception at the Rustic Lodge on Route 46 and a honeymoon in Florida at the Hotel Carillon, Mr. and Mrs. Rendina settled into their first home together which they purchased on 264 Sherwood Avenue in the Hillcrest section of Paterson.

Elaine continued in her job with Meyer Brothers until the blessing of her and Felix’s two daughters redirected her priorities towards their care and nurture. While her little girls Maria and Lisa were growing up, Elaine stayed home and lovingly poured herself into their lives, volunteering as a Girl Scout leader and in the PTA at School 27. Her daughters will testify to what a great mom Elaine was, and rave about how Mom taught them cooking skills when they were just ten years old. More importantly, she taught them good old-fashioned values like the virtue of hard work and doing your best. Elaine loved traditions and one of those traditions when the kids were growing up consisted of Friday nights with Felix and the girls out for a night at the Willowbrook Mall. Her daughters especially enjoyed those nights because they could usually count on an ice cream treat and coming home with a 45 record with a recording from one of their favorite artists to play on the family record player. As the girls grew older, the tradition changed a little but continued when Felix would go play golf and the ladies would head to the mall for some shopping, a sandwich at the ham store and a cup of coffee at Starbucks in the food court.

At home, Elaine was the consummate homemaker who kept the house so clean and neat, she could easily accept company at the drop of a hat. While cleaning she would often sing songs along with the music playing on the radio. She could also make the house smell so inviting with her delicious braciole recipe and famous eggplant parmigiana which was requested for all family gatherings. In her spare time she would read the latest issue of Readers Digest from cover to cover, and get together with the other veteran’s wives as a member of the Riverside Veterans Women’s Auxiliary.

When her daughters were in high school, Elaine returned to the workplace as a bookkeeper with Matas Finaly and Morro Business Supplies of Paterson for ten years. After that, she and Felix settled into retirement and enjoyed some wonderful times traveling together with highlights being trips to Florida, some luxury cruises, and a visit to the Smokey Mountains where they got to see the luxurious Biltmore estate. Of course, there were also many good times spent as a growing family, now with the blessing of four beautiful granddaughters, down the shore at Wildwood Crest and Long Beach Island (LBI). These shore trips were another special summer tradition that dated back to when Elaine was raising her own family and they continue to this day.

Elaine was a faithful Parishioner of St. Gerard’s Church in Paterson, and in 1998, when she moved to Wayne, she became a parishioner of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Wayne.

Tough and a bit feisty (her granddaughters called Grandma “Chicken Hawk” because she reminded them of the feisty sidekick of the famed Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn) Elaine was nevertheless extremely loving! She’d do anything for her family or friends and was very protective. She was really ahead of her time and always made the best of the hand that life dealt her. May she rest in the peace of God.

Elaine was the beloved wife of Felix for 52 years of marriage: loving mother of Maria and husband Sal Rafanelli of Wayne, and Lisa Rendina and her husband Potter Earle of Churchville, PA; cherished grandmother of Danielle, Gianna, Celeste, and Maggie; and dear sister of Janet Rigamonti of North Haledon. She was predeceased by her dear brother John Fiorillo.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Elaine’s name are asked to consider Alzheimer’s New Jersey, 400 Morris Avenue, Suite 251, Denville, NJ 07834 (www.alznj.org).