Elizabeth DeRonde

Elizabeth “Betty” DeRonde, 96, of Wayne, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, November 2, 2019. Her passing culminated a life filled with many rich blessings and came one day before what would have been her wedding anniversary to her beloved late husband Cornelius who passed before her in 2005. Surely, they are excited to be reunited in heaven celebrating a marriage that was marked with much love, admiration and affection.

Betty was born and raised in West Paterson (known today as Woodland Park), the third of Robert and Mary Mooney’s five children. Along with her classmates, she enjoyed the distinction of being a member of the first graduating class from the brand new Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls.

Betty was just fourteen years old when she first met the young man she would ultimately marry. His name was Cornelius “Neil” DeRonde and one day he came home with Betty’s older brothers who happened to work with him at the Curtiss Wright Corporation. It did not take long for Neil to notice and quickly take a liking to Betty, but with her being only fourteen years old at the time, her parents’ only thought was “keep Neil away from Betty!” Soon after, World War II began and Neil was called into service as soldier in the armed forces of the United States. While genuinely concerned for Neil’s safety, the distance from their young daughter that the war afforded admittedly gave Betty’s parents a certain level of comfort. Neil ultimately returned from war and, in good time, Betty’s parents actually came to adore Neil. They married on a snowy Saturday, November 3, 1945 in a private home in Montclair, and Betty’s parents gave their heartfelt blessing to the marriage. The newlyweds started life together in a rented apartment on Boyle Avenue in Totowa. Over the course of their lives together they would move three more times – first to 259 Moreland Ave in West Paterson, then to 241 Rifle Camp Road in West Paterson, and finally, in 1995 to their present home in Wayne.

Betty was the consummate homemaker. There wasn’t a thing she wasn’t able to do and everything she did was done to perfection. Her role of professional homemaker was inspired by her sincere desire to be a loving wife to her husband Neil, devoted mother to their two children Cheryl and Allan, and an adoring grandmother to her four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her home was always a most welcoming place to be. A most desired cook and baker, family favorites included Betty’s blueberry cheese pie, carrot cake and lemon coconut cake. The whirring of the sewing machine was a familiar sound in the home as Betty made much of the family’s clothing, and always to a high degree of excellence. One year, just one day before Easter, Betty decided that her daughter Cheryl needed to have a nice outfit for the special holiday. She quickly purchased the material and had the beautifully crafted wool suit ready in time for Cheryl to wear to church the next morning for Easter Sunday service. She could make anything and even made Cheryl’s wedding dress. When the blessing of grandchildren came, they were all gifted with blankets, booty’s and sweaters lovingly made by the skilled hands of Grandma DeRonde.

Betty’s home was always fastidiously kept and the outside of the house was equally lovely because of her advanced gardening skills. Betty had beautiful annual and perennial gardens all around the house. She also enjoyed growing her own vegetables and the rhubarb in her garden made for some delicious rhubarb pie. Betty’s skills weren’t just limited to growing plants, she could actually start new one from just a sprig or a leaf from an existing plant. She did this often with African violets and her Christmas Poinsettia flowered every year because Betty just knew how to make that happen. Betty also was the go-to person when a room needed to be wallpapered. This was due to her high standards of perfection which demanded that that patterns in the wallpaper always matched up perfectly from one hung piece to the next.

Betty loved her home and her role as homemaker for her family so much, she usually chose to stay at home versus taking a vacation. When she did travel, it was usually only to a place as far away as Asbury Park. Faith in God and love of family were the hallmarks of her life. She faithfully gathered with fellow believers at Grace Church in Clifton. This practice went on for 45 years until older age made it too difficult to do. When her children were young, she and Neil took great interest in their activities. She especially loved watching her son Allan play basketball and baseball during his years at Passaic Valley Regional High School. Being the proud mom that she was, she always enjoyed hearing the mothers from the opposing team lamenting about their sons chances of winning when her son Allan was slated to pitch a game. She and Neil also enjoyed attending many of their grandchildren’s sporting events travelling regularly to wherever the games were being played. She was an awesome grandma who regularly hosted her grandchildren for sleepovers and enjoyed taking them with Neil to the Thanksgiving parades.  

Betty was a brilliant woman. She loved keeping her mind sharp by doing daily crossword puzzles. She will be greatly missed because she was one of the strongest bedrocks in the whole family. She leaves behind a legacy of love and being a shining example for all that is good in God’s world. Her children will miss the daily phone calls with Mom and how she consistently took a genuine interest in each one of her children and grandchildren. Betty always knew what was going on in all of their lives and her love and care for each one was so evident. She would often pray for each one and was always glad to receive requests for extra prayer.  

Betty was the beloved wife of Cornelius, blessed in marriage for 59 years until his passing in 2005; devoted mother of Cheryl Holmberg of Totowa, and Allan and wife Eloise DeRonde of Shrewsbury; adoring grandmother of: Robert and wife Alison Holmberg, David and wife Christine Holmberg, Matthew DeRonde, and Alex DeRonde; cherished great-grandmother of Dylan, Casey, Shane, Aidan, and Logan; and dear aunt of several nieces and nephews. Betty was also predeceased by her three brothers and one sister: Robert, William and Joseph Mooney and Mae Meier.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to The Leukemia and Lymphoma, Donor Services P.O. Box 98018 Washington DC 20090-8018 (www.lls.org), would be appreciated.