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January 7, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Sunday, January 12th 2014 from 2:00-6:00 PM at the:
Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home
567 Ratzer Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
www.vandermay.com
Funeral services will be held 9:00 AM on Monday, January 13th 2014 from the funeral home then to:
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church
45 Urban Club Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
where a 10:00 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Jennie R. (Pepe) Franco age 90 of Wayne died peacefully at home on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
Jennie Rose (Pepe) Franco, age 90, of Wayne went home to the Lord on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 after a brief but courageous fight against Gastric Cancer. She spent her last month of life under the care of many compassionate health care providers at St Joseph's Hospital in Wayne.
Jennie was born, raised, and lived in Newark before moving to Wayne fourteen years ago where she resided at Four Seasons. She was the daughter of Santo and Maria Pepe and had eight brothers and four sisters. Her mother passed away when she was young and Jennie quit school after 10th grade to take care of her siblings.
Jennie is survived by her daughter Janice Franco Blehl & her husband Vincent of Saddle River & brothers Joseph Pepe of Oxnard, CA & Thomas Pepe of Wyckoff, NJ. She also has many nieces & nephews.
Jennie married her first love, Thomas Franco on June 21, 1942 at St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Newark. They enjoyed sixty-one years of marriage before his passing in 2003. They enjoyed going to Atlantic City together. Jennie was a homemaker & an accomplished card player & played with many friends. Her nickname was "the card shark"
Jennie was blessed with 2 angelic children: a son, Tommy, who was born a Special Person who happened to have Cerebral Palsy and a daughter, Janice.
Despite Tommy's special needs, Jennie, contrary to conventional wisdom of the day which was to institutionalize those with special needs, chose to keep Tommy at home and provided for him with unwavering dedication and love. Jennie dedicated over fifty years of her life to caring for Tommy. Jennie was also passionate about the rights of others with special needs . She was a supporter of one of the many grassroots organizations, Disabled In Action (DIA) which was partially responsible for the ultimate passage of the landmark American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Legislation. Jennie could be seen pictured in the Newspapers with Tommy in his wheel chair, her daughter Janice, along with a very young activist: Geraldo Rivera as they walked the streets of Ridgewood to lobby for curb cuts, a dream of hers which today is now a reality. The Franco family strived to raise money for Easter Seals to fund Cerebral Palsy research. Tommy passed away in 2009.
Jennie was blessed to find a second love, the late Mr. Charlie Marino. They met at the Passaic County Day Program. Charlie was smitten with Jennie. Finally after numerous offers to share some coffee together, Jennie accepted. Charlie was only 95 years young then, she only 83, and their relationship blossomed for 5 years until Charlie's passing, just shy of his 100th Birthday. Jennie adored Charlie and he her. Charlie affectionately referred to Jennie as "Regina", Italian for Queen.
Jennie had developed Alzheimer's yet continued to live at home with daily assistance from her favorite Caregiver: Natalia.
Jennie even learned to remember and say Natalia's name, a feat which to a normal person might seem mundane but to someone with Alzheimer's was a major breakthrough so much so, it brought tears to Natalia's eyes (and our’s too)
Jennie was extremely fortunate to spend 5 days a week attending the Christian Health Care Adult Day Service at Siena Village in Wayne right up until the day before she was hospitalized.
She was very dedicated to her Catholic Faith, prayed the Rosary almost every day, and was a parishioner of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary RC Church in Wayne.
Jennie's sense of humor and sage wisdom were profound, we will miss her and them both...
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Christian Health Care Adult Day Service of Wayne, 2000 Siena Village, Wayne NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Sunday, January 12th 2014 from 2:00-6:00 PM at the:
Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home
567 Ratzer Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
www.vandermay.com
Funeral services will be held 9:00 AM on Monday, January 13th 2014 from the funeral home then to:
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church
45 Urban Club Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
where a 10:00 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
January 7, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Sunday, January 12th 2014 from 2:00-6:00 PM at the:
Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home
567 Ratzer Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
www.vandermay.com
Funeral services will be held 9:00 AM on Monday, January 13th 2014 from the funeral home then to:
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church
45 Urban Club Rd
Wayne, NJ 07470
where a 10:00 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Jennie R. (Pepe) Franco age 90 of Wayne died peacefully at home on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
Jennie Rose (Pepe) Franco, age 90, of Wayne went home to the Lord on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 after a brief but courageous fight against Gastric Cancer. She spent her last month of life under the care of many compassionate health care providers at St Joseph's Hospital in Wayne.
Jennie was born, raised, and lived in Newark before moving to Wayne fourteen years ago where she resided at Four Seasons. She was the daughter of Santo and Maria Pepe and had eight brothers and four sisters. Her mother passed away when she was young and Jennie quit school after 10th grade to take care of her siblings.
Jennie is survived by her daughter Janice Franco Blehl & her husband Vincent of Saddle River & brothers Joseph Pepe of Oxnard, CA & Thomas Pepe of Wyckoff, NJ. She also has many nieces & nephews.
Jennie married her first love, Thomas Franco on June 21, 1942 at St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Newark. They enjoyed sixty-one years of marriage before his passing in 2003. They enjoyed going to Atlantic City together. Jennie was a homemaker & an accomplished card player & played with many friends. Her nickname was "the card shark"
Jennie was blessed with 2 angelic children: a son, Tommy, who was born a Special Person who happened to have Cerebral Palsy and a daughter, Janice.
Despite Tommy's special needs, Jennie, contrary to conventional wisdom of the day which was to institutionalize those with special needs, chose to keep Tommy at home and provided for him with unwavering dedication and love. Jennie dedicated over fifty years of her life to caring for Tommy. Jennie was also passionate about the rights of others with special needs . She was a supporter of one of the many grassroots organizations, Disabled In Action (DIA) which was partially responsible for the ultimate passage of the landmark American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Legislation. Jennie could be seen pictured in the Newspapers with Tommy in his wheel chair, her daughter Janice, along with a very young activist: Geraldo Rivera as they walked the streets of Ridgewood to lobby for curb cuts, a dream of hers which today is now a reality. The Franco family strived to raise money for Easter Seals to fund Cerebral Palsy research. Tommy passed away in 2009.
Jennie was blessed to find a second love, the late Mr. Charlie Marino. They met at the Passaic County Day Program. Charlie was smitten with Jennie. Finally after numerous offers to share some coffee together, Jennie accepted. Charlie was only 95 years young then, she only 83, and their relationship blossomed for 5 years until Charlie's passing, just shy of his 100th Birthday. Jennie adored Charlie and he her. Charlie affectionately referred to Jennie as "Regina", Italian for Queen.
Jennie had developed Alzheimer's yet continued to live at home with daily assistance from her favorite Caregiver: Natalia.
Jennie even learned to remember and say Natalia's name, a feat which to a normal person might seem mundane but to someone with Alzheimer's was a major breakthrough so much so, it brought tears to Natalia's eyes (and our’s too)
Jennie was extremely fortunate to spend 5 days a week attending the Christian Health Care Adult Day Service at Siena Village in Wayne right up until the day before she was hospitalized.
She was very dedicated to her Catholic Faith, prayed the Rosary almost every day, and was a parishioner of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary RC Church in Wayne.
Jennie's sense of humor and sage wisdom were profound, we will miss her and them both...
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Christian Health Care Adult Day Service of Wayne, 2000 Siena Village, Wayne NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
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