Kathleen Mehr

Kathleen C. Mehr, age 78, of Butler, passed away on Saturday, November 27, 2021.

Kathy was born in Hudson County and was the firstborn of Mario and Caroline (nee Consoli) Dambra’s two children. She grew up living above her parent’s business, Dambra’s Delicatessen on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen and, as a young girl, she enjoyed helping out in the family business.

Kathy graduated from St. Michael’s High School in Hudson County with the Class of 1960. During her years at the school and actually, all throughout her formative years, she developed a close relationship with God that grew even more as the years went by. She loved school and using her God-given gifts as a talented singer in the St. Michael’s High School choir.

Kathy married and was blessed with three beautiful daughters followed by three sons. Ensuing years brought hardship and she ended up raising her six children on her own. She worked very hard and through the challenging times, she always put her trust in her heavenly Father and strove to maintain a positive attitude. If you were to ask Kathy how she was doing, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to respond with something like, “I’m too blessed to be stressed!”

Throughout a lifetime of work, Kathy wore many different hats. Her can-do attitude enabled her to be a store manager at Roserne’s Liquor Store in Butler, manager of the Kwik Shop – a small grocery store in Bloomingdale, a bookkeeper for Berta’s Chateau in Wanaque, and a seamstress from home. In the 1980’s, she thought she might like to pursue a career in nursing so she started taking classes at Morris Community College. But when a job promotion at Standard Tile in Totowa was offered, Kathy chose to forgo the nursing career and work as a sales rep at Standard Tile, a career that she remained in for 31 years until retiring in 2018. The job was perfectly suited to Kathy as she loved to help her customers design their home tiling projects. She was very sociable so she loved to chat, and she loved to share about her love for Jesus and all that He was doing in her life. No doubt about it…..Kathy knew the tile business well! Her children and grandchildren would laugh at her and marvel how she’d go into a public place like a restaurant, see that it was decorated with tile, and she’d know the type and origin of the tile, the name of the color, and even the lot number!

On the home front, during her precious spare time, nothing made Kathy happier than spending time with her truly loved children and grandchildren. She was an excellent cook and baker and Italian recipes were her favorite – homemade pizza and Stromboli’s of every kind, and delicious homemade meatballs. Truth be told, there was nothing that she made that her family did not like. Kathy also received accolades for her out-of-this-world banana bread and when those grandchildren came to visit, they were sure to ask Grandma Kathy “Where’s the ice box cake Grandma?” She adored her grandchildren and they were invited to her house every week for some quality good times together. She was always ready for them with lots of good food and treats to offer and she loved sitting down with them to share stories from her childhood growing up in North Bergen. She was the lottery ticket grandma because she was always giving them tickets and when they won, she felt like the winner seeing the joy that it gave them. As her grandchildren grew older, she was the one they would confide in with their deepest secrets and she always was full of great advice. All in all, Kathy did her best to leave those kids with happy memories that will last a lifetime. Most families are familiar with Sunday dinners. Well, for Kathy, Sunday dinners took place every Wednesday night. That was the day of the week that she was off from work, so that was the perfect night to have everyone over for a delicious home cooked meal lovingly prepared by Chef Kathy. Kathy also liked to put her seamstress skills to work for her family. She’d make outfits for her kids including some of her daughter’s wedding gowns. She was a skilled knitter who found it relaxing and rewarding to knit blankets, scarves, mittens and even gloves (which are really hard to make) for her grandchildren.

For Kathy, the many pets she had throughout the years were a constant source of enjoyment and companionship. As they were growing up, she let her kids have various animals including rabbits, guinea pigs and even ferrets. She referred to her three dogs – Sparky, Bear, and Mellie as her second set of kids and her four-legged fur babies, and her cat Olive was presently her buddy.  

With a faith like Kathy’s it’s not surprising that one of her favorite places to be was church. She was a longtime parishioner of St. Mary’s R.C. Church in Pompton Lakes and when they were young, she always took all of her kids. In more recent years due to some health challenges, she would hitch a ride from her daughter Kathleen and attend St. Anthony’s Church in Butler. Kathy believed in the power of trusting God with the things in life that were beyond her control. She loved to ask her grandchildren, “What are the four words you should always remember?” Of course her answer was “Let go. Let God.” She also would always say that she was “Too anointed to be disappointed.”

Kathy will be remembered for her kind, generous spirit. She was so funny and she never held back when it came to being a free spirit. She loved to blast the tunes and dance while singing on the top of her lungs. She was always open for a new experience and had so much fun when her kids and grandkids took her to a 1960’s revival concert and also to see Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, and even Kiss! She will be loved and respected for always striving to do the best for her family and friends and for her undying example of faith which has surely assured her a place in heaven.

Kathy is survived by her six awesome children: Kathleen Mehr of Kinnelon, Veronica Mehr of Washington Township, Caroline Many of Hamburg, Robert Mehr and wife Lisa of Highland Lakes, John Mehr and wife Tiffany of Wayne, and Stephen Mehr and wife Shannon of Wanaque. She was also the adoring grandmother of: Jeremy and wife Kathryn, Michael and wife Stephanie, Ashleigh (predeceased in 2021 leaving Kathy heartbroken), Alexandra, Dakota, R.J., Ava, Makayla, Ella, Kayden, and Blake; and cherished great-grandmother of Cecilia Jeremy, and Rosemarie. Kathy was also predeceased by her younger brother John Dambra.

Those planning an expression of sympathy in Kathleen’s name are asked to consider:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memorial Processing
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis, TN 38105-9959
You can also donate online by clicking here (www.stjude.org)