Marie Loria

Marie D. Loria, 81, of Wayne, passed away peacefully, with her loving family by her side, on Sunday, January 5, 2025.

Marie was the second of three children born to Dan Sr. and Antoinette “ Toni” Marie (Cutitieo) DeMarco, flanked by her older brother Dan and her younger brother Joseph. She was raised in West New York, NJ where she attended Memorial High School, graduating with the Class of 1961. She enjoyed reminiscing about her weekly trips to the library with her father as a little girl which undoubtedly marked the beginning of her love of reading. She retold stories of Saturday mornings spent at the movie theater and summer trips to Rockaway Beach.

Life introduced Marie into the work world behind a switchboard as a telephone operator. From there, she took a position as a receptionist for Atlantic Aviation at Teterboro Airport. One day while at work, the angels up above smiled down on Marie in the likeness of a handsome young man named Rudolph Loria who came in for a scheduled interview. Upon reflecting on that moment, Marie recalled that the second their eyes met, she knew it was forever. She was right. Marie and Rudy’s first date took place on Valentine’s Day. Talk about romantic! They went out for dinner at Nico’s Pier 17 on Route 17 in Paramus, NJ. By the time Rudy reached into the back of the car to grab the dozen roses he got for Marie, they were frozen. Their love was warm though and grew quickly. One night, while out together, for some reason Marie got a look at Rudy’s driver’s license which revealed that he was a couple of years younger than he had told her. Taken aback, Rudy, wasting no time, blurted out, “Will you still marry me?” Fifty-four years later, you can rest assured that the answer was “Yes.” They were married at a ranch by the justice of the peace in Milford, PA on Monday, January 4, 1971. The day before Marie’s passing, she and Rudy marked fifty-four years of a love and laughter-filled journey as husband and wife. They celebrated their nuptial with an impromptu honeymoon up at beautiful Lake George in New York State which became their favorite vacation spot for nearly every summer thereafter for decades.

Marie and Rudy started married life together in Ridgefield, NJ.  They found their forever home in Wayne, NJ in 1988.

Marie gave Rudy two precious daughters, Jennifer and Laura. She loved, cared for and blessed them with a great childhood as a homemaker and mother while Rudy provided for his family. The girls shared childhood memories of family trips to Lake George and summer road trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The trips to Michigan were long but always entertaining.  Marie made sure the girls had plenty of activity books and snacks .

Once their girls reached an age of relative independence, Marie returned to work outside the home as a receptionist at AAA in Wayne where her warm, friendly disposition earned her Employee of the Month the first month she worked there. Full retirement came in 2001 and Marie set her sites on an activity she truly relished – being a sweet “Nana” caring for her grandchildren and their pets.

Marie was a prolific reader and the most excellent cook. In fact, she was passionate about cooking and even took cooking classes at home and abroad when she joined Rudy on business trips or when they vacationed at different destinations. Her family loved all her offerings but especially her pot roast, roast beef, stuffed artichokes, and the old Italian sauce on Sundays. Not only was she an excellent cook but the family delighted in her baking talents.  As Rudy says, “She put love in her cooking.” She leaves behind her kitchen -  one of her favorite rooms in the house, and her countless hand-written recipes.

She looked forward to her daily dose of General Hospital having been a loyal fan for 45  years.  She enjoyed football; any game on any day and always pizza to go with it.  She loved listening to the Oldies, Il Volo, Edith Piaf, Nana Mouskouri, Elvis and Lee Greenwood. She loved jokes.

Most of all, Marie loved her family and that love was reflected in every kind word and thoughtful gesture.

Marie blessed people in all walks of life with her sincere kindness. Wherever she went, her unintimidating conversational talents emerged. She could talk with total strangers as if they were life-long friends. Her kindness was only equaled by her generous nature.

Marie loved animals.  Once, when the family was having dinner outside together at Spiaggetta Restaurant in Stone Harbor, Marie couldn’t resist sneaking food to the seagulls flying overhead. She did this despite seeing the “Don’t Feed the Seagulls” signs and it prompted one of the cooks to come out and scold her. It was Marie’s kind and generous heart that made her risk the cook’s wrath because she felt so bad for the poor seagulls. Lincoln, the neighbor’s dog, had Marie’s number too. He’d call for her to give him a cookie over the fence and she could never resist. Chipmunks (“chippies”) were another favorite. She fed them corn whenever they visited . She just loved animals.

Marie was loving, loyal, gentle, strong, determined, silly and blessed to be a blessing through her truly generous heart. She was “Boo” to her beloved Rudy because her big, beautiful eyes lit up when surprised, and he was affectionately referred to as “Ru” (for Rudy) to her.  

Marie was the beloved and treasured wife of Rudolph “Rudy” Loria, blessed to be married for fifty-four joy-filled years. She was the most loving mother of Jennifer Marie Krazinski and husband Scott of Hewitt, and Laura Marie Sek and husband Robert of Wayne; adoring grandmother of: Parker James Sek, Hunter Stefan Sek, and Sebastian Krazinski; dearest sister of Dan DeMarco and wife Pat of Ridgefield Park, and Joseph DeMarco and wife Kristine of Bayville, NJ; and dear aunt of the late Theresa, and Donna, Joe, Danny, Michael, Sara, and Kyle. She is also survived by her “grand dogs”  Lola and Spartan, and she was predeceased by her pet calico kitty Cinnamon.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Marie’s memory are asked to consider:

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

P.O. Box 5028

Hagerstown, MD 21741-5028

Please make check or money order payable to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Please indicate that your gift is in memory of Marie Loria.