Lauren Azzara

Lauren Azzara (nee Masiak), age 62, of West Milford passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 while receiving the loving care of her family.

Laurie was born in Paterson and was one of two children to Joseph and Joan Masiak.  At the age of nine, Laurie and her family moved to the Pines Lake section of Wayne where she spent her formative years.  Laurie attended Wayne Hills High School where she participated in fencing on the Junior Varsity and Varsity High School Fencing Team.  Following her graduation from high school with the class of 1977, she attended Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, NY where she studied Psychology.  Laurie left college early to pursue a career in Computer Programming.  She found work quickly at a company in Oakland, NJ known as Meadox Medicals where she was employed for a few years.  Laurie left her position and accepted another offer from Safilo USA in Secaucus, NJ where she was again employed as a computer programmer.  Laurie's career at Safilo USA spanned over thirty-three years and earning her the title of Project Manager.  She held this position until her retirement in April of 2021.

On August 10, 1990, Laurie was set up on a blind date with a gentleman named Ron Azzara by some mutual friends.  Laurie and Ron went out to El Torito Mexican Restaurant in Fairfield and had drinks.  The two hit it off great and started dating steadily for the next four years.  As fate would have it they fell in love and on October 1, 1994 they became husband and wife.  The couple got married in Las Vegas at The Little Church of the West, and over forty members of their family and friends traveled to join them, making it a wonderful and memorable “family bash.”  After getting married, the newlyweds moved to West Milford, NJ in 1995 and have been there ever since.   Laurie and
Ron cherished nearly twenty-eight years of loving and loyal marriage.

One of the couple’s favorite pastimes was travel.  Laurie and Ron traveled throughout the entire United States over the years by plane as well as by car.  Their most frequented destinations were their special city of Las Vegas and New Orleans, LA.  These were destination that Ron and Laurie visited on a yearly basis.  For Laurie, the attraction of New Orleans was clearly the music.  After visiting New Orleans, Laurie fell in love with the culture and music there.  She adored the Jazz, Blues and Bluegrass music genres, some of her favorite musical artists being Bela Fleck, Sonny Landreth, and Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes.  For the couple’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary they traveled to Yellowstone National Park for a very memorable vacation.  They also traveled to other destinations such as Telluride CO, for The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, spent time at the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City.  Although Vegas and Atlantic City were favorite hot spots, gambling was not the attraction for Laurie, it was musical shows an entertainment which she fell in love with.  She also treasured attending The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The French Quarter Fest and many other music venues throughout the United States.

Laurie enjoyed playing Racquetball and was also an avid Runner, participating in various half marathons over the years at the Jersey Shore, Central Park, Vegas, and New Orleans.  When she ran, it was always to raise money for a good cause.  She also loved yearly camping adventure at the Michael Arnone's Crawfish Festival in Sussex County, NJ.  Throughout her life, she became a fan of eating heathy and studying good nutrition.  She was a wonderful cook and prided herself in preparing well balanced and nutritional meals for herself, Ron, her family, and her friends.  Laurie had a wonderfully infectious personality that was witty and smart.  She had a dry sense of humor and was the kind of person you couldn’t help but want to be around.  Whenever she expected guests in her home she always fussed and had to have everything just perfect for them.  Laurie was a truly special person who touched the lives of many people and will be sincerely missed by everyone that knew her.

Laurie is survived by her husband Ronald Azzara of West Milford, one brother Joseph Masiak and his wife Janet of Hawthorne, NJ, one brother-in-law David Azzara and his wife Kate of Louisville, KY, one niece Brittany Azzara of Louisville, KY, and one nephew Brandon Azzara of Louisville, KY.  Laurie was predeceased by her mother Joan Masiak in 1995, and her father Joseph Masiak in 2018.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Laurie's name may be made to New Orleans Musicians Clinic, 3700 St Charles Ave, 2nd Floor, New Orleans, LA 70115, http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org