Geraldine “Geri” Delli Santi

Geraldine Delli Santi, age 93, of Paramus and formerly of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 17, 2023.

Geraldine, or “Geri” as she was commonly known, was born and raised in the Iron-Bound section of Newark, NJ. She was the daughter of her late parents, Joseph and Mary (Vitilo) Nobile. 

After attending Eastside High School in Newark, Geri worked at an umbrella factory where she met the love of her life John Delli Santi. Geri and John made their wedding promises before God, family and friends on Saturday, April 8, 1950 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in her hometown of Newark. After the wedding, the newlyweds honeymooned in thee most popular destination of the day – Niagara Falls. Upon returning home, they started their lives as husband and wife in a home located at 296 Walnut Street in Newark. The ensuing years of marriage included the blessed arrival of three children, Louis, Joseph and Laura, and several moves to new homes including, 181 Lincoln Ave, Newark, and 368 North 11th Street, in Newark. During the child-rearing years, Geri lovingly embraced her role as mother and homemaker. Then, when the kids reached that age of relative independence, she began to work outside the home as a sales associate for McCrory’s Department Store in Newark, and later at Mandee Clothing Stored in Newark and Bloomfield. Those were bygone days when you could actually go into a clothing store and be personally waited on. Geri was one of those kind persons that waited on you with a cheerful smile and a service-minded spirit. 

Sadly, in December of 1992, Geri’s beloved John passed away. Soon after she moved out of Newark for the first time in her life into her new home located at 29 Maple Street in Bloomfield. She later downsized to an apartment at Siena Village in Wayne and had most recently been living at the Veterans Home in Paramus.

Geri enjoyed various leisure time activities. She loved to read, especially Danielle Steel romance novels. She also enjoyed coloring, going to see shows in Atlantic City with her daughter Laura, playing bingo, and singing with the bands at the Veterans Home. Geri especially loved being with her children, granddaughter and brother and sisters. She was so proud of her granddaughter Julianne and never missed any of her birthdays, dance recitals, or graduations. Geri was also a great cook and an even better baker. Everyone loved it when she baked German nut loaf, Italian Struffoli (Italian honey balls), and her all time specialty – Italian Knots. 

Along with her love for her family and friends, Geri had a sincere love of God. She was a faithful catholic who always felt a blessing from going to mass. During her days living in Newark, she was a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Council Church and St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. For the past ten years, she was a parishioner of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Pompton Lakes. 

Among her many virtues, Geri was known for her charitable acts of kindness to those in need which was surely informed by her faith and the church’s teachings on caring for the poor, sick,  and elderly amongst us. 

Gerri was the beloved wife of John Delli Santi, blessed in a loving marriage for 42 years until John’s passing in 1992. She was the loving mother of Louis Delli Santi and wife Jo-Ann of Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, Joseph Delli Santi and wife Elaine of Wayne, and Laura Delli Santi of Cedar Grove; and cherished grandmother of Julainne McCarthy and husband Scott. She was predeceased by her three sisters and one brother: Lucy Alicia, Jack Nobile, Theresa Sorrentino, and Anna Nobile.  

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