Evalyn Pollara

Evalyn E. Pollara, age 91 of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 21, 2019.

Evalyn was born in Paterson. Soon after birth, her family moved to Clifton and there she lived during her formative years. After graduating from Clifton High School, Evalyn went to work as a teller for First National Bank in Clifton. Over the course of several years she worked also for other various banks. Working in the bank lead to a casual interest in collecting wheat side pennies and more importantly, silver coins which customers regularly brought into to convert to paper currency because it was just so much easier to handle. As the silver came in, Evalyn bought it all and she had quite a stash by the time she moved on from banking.

Soon Evalyn met, fell in love with, and married George A. Pollara. They married in August, 1948 and initially lived in Clifton while George, a full-time building contractor, worked during his off-time on the construction of a new home in Wayne for himself and Evalyn. The excitement of moving into that new house in 1953 was only eclipsed by the birth of a newborn son – John F. Pollara that same year. Evalyn had her work cut out for her making their new house into a loving home and caring for her newborn son. She stayed home to raise John, not returning to the workplace until he hit his teenage years. Her first job back was as a secretary and payroll clerk for Speed Unlimited – a custom built BMX bike shop in the Mountain View section of Wayne. Evalyn had a lot of fun working that job during the 1970’s and early 1980’s, but then the flood of 1984 forced the shop to close. She promptly secured another job utilizing those same skills with Dell Construction Company in Paterson and remained there for the next ten years until being more-or-less forced into retirement to care for her husband George who had recently sustained a stroke.

Even after putting in a full day of work, Evalyn was never one to sit still. She had a lot of interests and pursuits to keep her busy and many of them shared a common theme – enriching the lives of other. While she loved serving as chairman (that’s what they called it then) during the 1960’s and 1970’s for the Passaic County Chapter of the Republican Club, she was not happy at all with the state of present-day politics. Evalyn also loved making the stay of the patients at Wayne General Hospital a little more pleasant by volunteering in any capacity to attain that goal. Even when sitting home at night, her hands were often busy at work knitting or crocheting something warm, soft, and beautiful which she would invariably give away to someone to bless their heart. When her son John was a kid, Evalyn always found some time to get out into the back yard with him to toss the baseball or work on his hitting skills so he could help lead his little league team to victory. And there was always that puzzle on a board on the rolling table in the living room that Evalyn enjoyed the challenge of putting together. Having once owned property in New Hampshire with her husband George, the puzzles where typically nature scenes that reminded her of those days. When the last piece was put in place, it was proudly displayed for a while before being pushed under the couch because she just couldn’t bring herself to take apart that which had taken so many nights to assemble. But eventually, Evalyn would relent, break it down and put it back in the box, only because she needed the board to make the next puzzle.

Above all else, Evalyn derived the most joy in her life from the love, affection and company of her family. When blessed with her grandson John A. Pollara, she loved to spoil him, no doubt using some of the money she made with all that silver she collected in her banking days. She was always sneaking him little gifts when given the chance. Eventually that grandson grew up and gave Evalyn her great granddaughter Scarlett Jade which Evalyn always referred to as “My beautiful little girl!” Evalyn’s canine buddies Lilo and Oakley were always by her side. Recently, when Evalyn would recline on the couch with several pillows making her comfortable, Oakley would always be nearby, cradled around her shoulders like a mink scarf and giving her the protection that only a pit bull could.  

Evalyn was the beloved wife of George A. Pollara, blest in marriage for fifty-six years until his passing in 2004. She is survived by her loving son John F. Pollara and his wife Corry of Wayne; cherished grandson John A. Pollara and his wife Sabina of Wayne; adoring great-granddaughter Scarlett Jade Pollara; numerous nieces and nephews; and her dear pooches, Lilo and Oakley. She was predeceased by her dear brother Eric Neukirchner and her dear sister Eleanor Braunlich. Evalyn’s family is also exceedingly grateful to the dedicated and loving caregivers at Preakness Healthcare Center in Wayne for attending so well to all of her needs and requests while under their care.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Evalyn’s name are asked to consider the Wayne Animal Shelter 201 Pompton Plains Crossroads, Wayne, NJ 07470.