Gloria Stepic

Gloria M. Stepic, age 75, of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 25, 2018 while in the loving care of her family.

Gloria was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. She was raised in El Paso, Texas but enjoyed returning often to Chihuahua to spend summers on her grandparent’s farm.

After graduating from high school, Gloria began working at the Hilton Hotel in El Paso. There, she met a young gentleman from New Jersey named William Stepic who was a patron of the hotel. Since Bill was on an extended business trip, he stayed at the Hilton for several months. This gave him and Gloria a nice amount of time to really get to know each other. As fate would have it, they fell in love which led to marriage on Christmas Day - Monday, December 25, 1961 at the Roman Catholic Church in El Paso. Soon after marriage, Gloria and Bill moved to New Jersey, settling into a garden apartment in Hackensack. In 1965 they moved to a new home on Palmer Drive in Wayne where they remained for the past 53 years.

Gloria embraced her role as homemaker and mother. Her family was the most important part of her life and her home was always a welcome place to gather. She loved entertaining for all the big holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and her kids could always count on Mom to throw the best birthday parties. Truly one of Gloria’s greatest gifts was cooking, and she made the best meals you could ever imagine. Family favorites included offerings from her Mexican background like enchiladas, quesadillas, mole sauce and her homemade salsa and guacamole.  She was the master of other dishes too, like Italian meals such as meatballs and lasagna. Gloria also liked to bake as well, her family especially enjoyed the date nut cake she baked for the holidays.

After her children gained some independence, Gloria returned to the workplace. She held various jobs before accepting a position as a switchboard operator for American Cyanamid Corporation, where she worked until retirement

After Bill retired, he suggested a trip to the Caribbean but Gloria had her sites set more on Hawaii. So to Hawaii they went. She always kept close ties with her family in El Paso, Texas and visits remained a regular tradition. Her kids often joined her on those trips so that they could spend time with their grandmother. Gloria was lucky to have had nine grandchildren of her own, and she took the greatest pleasure in spoiling them all. They say that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach and Gloria definitely used her gift of cooking to win her grandchildren’s hearts.

Known also as Glo, Glosie, Gam-ma-ma, and Mamasita, Gloria was a pleasant warm and friendly person who could strike up a conversation with a total stranger and proceed to talk for the next hour. She was a gifted story teller who used her great sense of humor to add a funny twist to the stories she told.

Gloria was the beloved wife of William – married for almost 57 years. She was the loving Mother of her sons, Robert and Walter Stepic, daughter Lillian Stepic, daughter Maryann and husband, Mark Howes, and daughter Sarah and husband Michael Pisani; the adoring grandmother of David, Adam, Skye, Isabella, AJ, Evan, Sophia, Maya, and Marco; and the loving Caregiver of Vera Garcia.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Gloria’s name are asked to consider The ARC for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Donations can be made online at thearc.org/donate.