Lena Lentine

Lena A. Lentine, age 92, of Woodland Park, passed Saturday, January 11, 2020.

She was born in Newark to Joseph and Nancy Torsiello.  Lena attended the McKinley High School in Newark with the Class of 1945.  At the age of sixteen, Lena left high school and went to work at Tung-Sol in Bloomfield where she worked for twenty-five years on the tube manufacturing line and then as an inspector.

As a young lady, Lena went roller skating with friends to the roller rink in Elizabeth and her life would change forever.  She and a young man named Paul Lentine would meet that night and after their first official date dancing at the Elizabeth Elks Lodge they truly fell in love. When Paul and Lena made their intentions to marry known Paul was called to a sit down with Lena’s father, eldest brother Jimmy and Aunt Lucy.  They interrogated him about his background, family history, future school and work intentions. Lena’s father proclaiming that although they thought he was perfect she should keep looking. Lena’s family and specifically her father would grow to love Paul.  When Paul’s father learned of this meeting he in turn gave some fatherly advice to Paul.  He told him when you go to visit Lena always greet her father when you first get there. He also suggested they agree on the following; 1. Lena wouldn’t interfere with his education,  2. They would never spend more than $100 without asking each other’s permission, and 3. They would never go to bed angry at each other. Lena and Paul went to a pawn shop in Atlantic City where they purchased a diamond engagement ring and married on May 1, 1954 at Saint Lucy’s Church in Newark.  They drove Paul’s 1953 blue Plymouth for three days on Route 1 and honeymooned in Miami, Florida.  Paul and Lena have had a loving and devoted marriage of sixty-six years.

She was a family oriented, loving and caring person who always spoke her mind. She was an excellent cook and was always making traditional Italian specialties whenever the family was together. She was always willing to try new recipes and was forever clipping them from newspapers and magazines. Lena enjoyed having family over but when it came to cleaning up she was meticulous. She would stay up ‘til three in the morning as she couldn’t go to bed until the house was back to immaculate.

Lena was the loving wife of sixty-six years to Paul Lentine; devoted mother of Nancy Lentine DO and her husband Lee Turner of Kinnelon; cherished grandmother of Sophia Lentine-Turner of Kinnelon; loved sister of Anna Firetto of Newark, and Joseph Torsiello and his wife Adrienne of Jupiter, FL; she was also the dearly loved God-Mother of Robert Firetto of Newark. Lena was predeceased by her brothers James, Gerald, and Anthony Torsiello.

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In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Association would be greatly appreciated.