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September 1, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 from 4-8 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 from the funeral home, then to St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson, where at 9:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
Elsie A. Scelba (nee Mostardo), age 94 of Wayne, died on Saturday, September 1, 2018 after a brief illness. Raised in Lyndhurst, she has lived in Wayne since 1964.
Elsie enjoyed a very traditional Italian lifestyle during her early years, where everything revolved around family and, of course, the church. She was one of eight children, so there was always plenty of family around. Shortly after high school, she took a job at the Leslie Machinery company in Lyndhurst where she met Sebastian “Charles” Scelba. Charlie invited her to a hockey game for their first date, and she accepted. She didn’t know the first thing about hockey, and still doesn’t, but the date was a success! Their romance soon led to marriage and they exchanged vows on April 30, 1944 at Sacred Heart RC Church in Lyndhurst. They went to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon before heading south to Florida for a few days, and visiting family and friends along the way. They settled into a home in Passaic before eventually moving to Wayne in 1964. They enjoyed a marriage that included lots of hard work, but made for a truly good life together. Sadly, Charlie passed away in 2007 after sixty-three years together.
Elsie continued to live by those family values she learned as a young girl. Keeping her family close was always a priority, and she was there for her children at every turn. Becoming a grandmother was very natural for her, and she attended every sporting event and activity that she could with her grandchildren. She took them all to Disney World several times, and her joy simply came from seeing each of them having fun. Summers in LBI have been a tradition for many years and Elsie loved it when everyone gathered there too.
Elsie was also a devout Catholic since her earliest years. Her faith was tested many times, but she always trusted God. When her son was drafted and sent to Vietnam, she would carry Rosary beads in her hands perpetually, went to church every morning for mass, and then made her husband drive her around to evening Novena, wherever it was being held. She never stopped carrying those Rosary beads, she never stopped praying, and never stopped going to mass. She always kept the faith.
Elsie is survived by her three children; Charles “Chuck” Scelba and his wife Angela of Totowa, Janet Cooke and her husband Paul of Wayne, and Patricia Speidel of Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, seven grandchildren; Dr. Paul Cooke and his wife Jennifer of Cranbury, NJ, Linda Wright and her husband David of N. Haledon, NJ, Lauren Cooke of Bellville, Kelly Speidel of Tappahannock, VA, Stephen Speidel and his wife Deanne of Vernon, Anthony Scelba and his wife Lynn of Wayne, and Ariana Adamo and her husband Thomas of Wayne, fifteen great-grandchildren; Paul, Grace, and Erin Cooke, Finley, Jack, and Owen Wright, Dominic and Damian Scelba, Christian and Austin Adamo, Stephen and Sean Speidel, and R.J., Kainen, and Garrison Speidel, three siblings; Arthur Mostardo, Marie Morrone of Brick, and Peter Mostardo. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Charles in 2007, by her grandson Robert Speidel, by her son-in-law Robert Speidel, and by four siblings; August, Joseph, and Julian Mostardo and Ida Frangipane.
Donations in Elsie’s memory would be greatly appreciated. Please consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 or visit www.stjude.org.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 from 4-8 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 from the funeral home, then to St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson, where at 9:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
September 1, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 from 4-8 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 from the funeral home, then to St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson, where at 9:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery, Paterson.
Elsie A. Scelba (nee Mostardo), age 94 of Wayne, died on Saturday, September 1, 2018 after a brief illness. Raised in Lyndhurst, she has lived in Wayne since 1964.
Elsie enjoyed a very traditional Italian lifestyle during her early years, where everything revolved around family and, of course, the church. She was one of eight children, so there was always plenty of family around. Shortly after high school, she took a job at the Leslie Machinery company in Lyndhurst where she met Sebastian “Charles” Scelba. Charlie invited her to a hockey game for their first date, and she accepted. She didn’t know the first thing about hockey, and still doesn’t, but the date was a success! Their romance soon led to marriage and they exchanged vows on April 30, 1944 at Sacred Heart RC Church in Lyndhurst. They went to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon before heading south to Florida for a few days, and visiting family and friends along the way. They settled into a home in Passaic before eventually moving to Wayne in 1964. They enjoyed a marriage that included lots of hard work, but made for a truly good life together. Sadly, Charlie passed away in 2007 after sixty-three years together.
Elsie continued to live by those family values she learned as a young girl. Keeping her family close was always a priority, and she was there for her children at every turn. Becoming a grandmother was very natural for her, and she attended every sporting event and activity that she could with her grandchildren. She took them all to Disney World several times, and her joy simply came from seeing each of them having fun. Summers in LBI have been a tradition for many years and Elsie loved it when everyone gathered there too.
Elsie was also a devout Catholic since her earliest years. Her faith was tested many times, but she always trusted God. When her son was drafted and sent to Vietnam, she would carry Rosary beads in her hands perpetually, went to church every morning for mass, and then made her husband drive her around to evening Novena, wherever it was being held. She never stopped carrying those Rosary beads, she never stopped praying, and never stopped going to mass. She always kept the faith.
Elsie is survived by her three children; Charles “Chuck” Scelba and his wife Angela of Totowa, Janet Cooke and her husband Paul of Wayne, and Patricia Speidel of Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, seven grandchildren; Dr. Paul Cooke and his wife Jennifer of Cranbury, NJ, Linda Wright and her husband David of N. Haledon, NJ, Lauren Cooke of Bellville, Kelly Speidel of Tappahannock, VA, Stephen Speidel and his wife Deanne of Vernon, Anthony Scelba and his wife Lynn of Wayne, and Ariana Adamo and her husband Thomas of Wayne, fifteen great-grandchildren; Paul, Grace, and Erin Cooke, Finley, Jack, and Owen Wright, Dominic and Damian Scelba, Christian and Austin Adamo, Stephen and Sean Speidel, and R.J., Kainen, and Garrison Speidel, three siblings; Arthur Mostardo, Marie Morrone of Brick, and Peter Mostardo. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Charles in 2007, by her grandson Robert Speidel, by her son-in-law Robert Speidel, and by four siblings; August, Joseph, and Julian Mostardo and Ida Frangipane.
Donations in Elsie’s memory would be greatly appreciated. Please consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 or visit www.stjude.org.
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