Huguette Boback

Huguette Boback, age 95 of Wayne and most recently Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains, passed away on Monday, November 18, 2019.

She was born to Emile and Emilienne Charlebois in Montreal, Canada. At the age of eleven her father passed away. Her uncle, a bishop in the Catholic church, stepped in and assisted with Huguette’s and her siblings’ education. She attended a boarding school before pursuing a career in nursing.

Huguette always wanted to travel and see the world so as a young nurse she and her friend Vicky decided to look for nursing jobs in the United States. They scanned the newspapers for nursing positions and chose Middletown, NY as their first destination. Huguette received her certification as a Registered Nurse and after a period of time returned to Montreal. Eventually the adventurer in her was ready for another challenge and she and Vicky found jobs in Jersey City. Huguette enjoyed her work in the United States very much and was particularly amused that many Americans found her French Canadian accent so charming (an accent which she never really lost even after residing most of her life in the States).

Huguette met her future husband Michael at a YMCA square dance in Jersey City. They were married at Saint Aloysius Church in Jersey City on December 1, 1951. Their honeymoon in Atlantic City marked the beginning of a lifetime traveling the world and experiencing everything they had ever dreamed of. Their experiences and spirit of adventure enriched the lives of their children in more ways than they could ever have imagined.

Mike’s work as a mechanical engineer for the Colgate Palmolive Company allowed them to live in numerous locations around the world including Columbia, Venezuela, Thailand and many others. They eventually decided to settle down and established roots in Wayne where they purchased a home in Packanack Lake in 1963. Huguette maintained her love of travel and accompanied Mike on consulting jobs in Belgium and Guatemala after his retirement from Colgate. They also traveled for pleasure with Huguette keeping a journal of each place they visited. Huguette and Mike had a loving and devoted marriage of sixty-two years before his passing in 2013. Shortly after his passing Huguette moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains, enjoying what she fondly called her “hotel living” and making many new and special friendships which she valued tremendously.

Huguette was devoted to her Catholic faith and was a lifelong parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne. She was active with the church in numerous ways including the Lazarus Society. Huguette was always ready to help those in need. Her compassionate nature was evident in her actions with the church, friends and neighbors over her many years at Packanack Lake.

Huguette had a deep life long appreciation of art and music. She especially loved classical music and for many years as an adult took classical guitar lessons and attended classical guitar concerts. At age 94 she was still taking advantage of Cedar Crest’s monthly shuttle buses into NYC to wander around the Metropolitan Museum of Art on her own for hours, soaking up the experience of being around the things that spoke so deeply to her.

Huguette was the devoted wife of the late Michael Boback (d.2013); loving mother of Michelle Wojtukiewicz and her husband Charles of Parsippany; Andrea Boback of Monmouth Junction, NJ; David Boback of Reno, Nevada, and Thomas Boback of Coppell, Texas. She was the cherished grandmother of Christopher Wojtukiewicz. Huguette was the dear sister of Camille Drolet and Lise Chamberlain both of Quebec City, Canada and Josee McGuire of Drummondville,Canada. She was pre-deceased by her beloved sister, Marie and brother, Jean.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital would be greatly appreciated.