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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, February 20, 2016 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Mary’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
Mary Kudla, a longtime resident of Wayne and formerly of Clifton, passed peacefully on the morning of Monday, February 15, 2016. She was 89.
Born in Wallkill, NY, Mary was the seventh child born to Joseph and Eva Malik. She grew up in Wawayanda, NY with her four brothers and three sisters. When she turned eighteen, she was all grown up and ready to experience life in the city. Mary took the train and moved to Passaic, NJ and began working in the textile mills. She probably picked up some sewing, knitting and crocheting skills which would pay off in the future, but more about that later.
One day in 1945, while standing in front of an ice cream parlor near Fourth Street in Passaic with some of her friends, Mary laid her eyes on a real dreamboat! He was tall and sculpted – a stunningly handsome looking man in his U.S. Marine uniform, home on leave while serving in World War II and the recipient of two purple hearts which were awarded to him for valor and bravery in defending his country’s freedoms and liberty. Mary somehow made sure to make his acquaintance. His name was William “Bill” Kudla and meeting him that day would forever change the course of her life and his too. They fell in love and the following year were married on April 28, 1946 at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in Passaic.
After the wedding, Mary and Bill initially settled on Lisbon Street in Clifton with Bill’s parents in a two-family house. A year later the stork made their first delivery. Mary and Bill were blessed with Marion, their firstborn. Three years later Patricia was delivered. This growing family moved, this time to Kulick Street, still in Clifton. Soon after, in 1956, they bought land in Wayne and, with the help of Bill’s step-dad Frank Szwed who was a mason by trade, Frank, Bill and Mary began building their new home at Alps Road, brick by brick by brick. In 1959 the stork visited their new home bringing Barbara #3. Next arrivals were Kenneth #4, Kim #5 and Darlene #6. Mary and Bill raised all their children in that home on Alps Road and it’s still the Kudla residence to this day.
The grass never had a chance to grow under Mary’s feet. One would think that raising six children would be enough, but Mary always had gas left in the tank for more. Her children have great childhood memories of the adventures that Mary would take them on – adventures like trips to the Land of Make Believe, Wild West City, Great Adventure and Seaside Heights. She always made time for them and it was always out of love and never out of obligation. What’s amazing is that Mary was also an integral part the family business that her beloved Bill and his brother Emil started. If you ever wondered who supplies the florists with frames you can stop wondering now. The business was called Kudla Florist Supply and while Bill and Emil were working their primary jobs, Mary was the biggest gear in that machine. She made most of the deliveries to the various florists out of their warehouse location in Passaic. A picture of Mary with one of her children under one arm and easels under the other arm would be a pretty accurate description. The children grew up in the business and have fond memories of those deliveries in the old Chevy box truck. Mary was also the primary bookkeeper and she never really retired.
So if you thought raising six children and running a florist supply business would be enough for Mary, you would still be wrong. In her “spare time” she put those skills she learned back in the Passaic textile mills to work. Mary was an expert at sewing, knitting and crocheting. Mary always spoke about learning to knit and crochet when she was very young and continued into her senior years. She had her own business cards – Mary’s Needle Crafts. She was so skillful, she built up quite a following and people would come to her with custom orders. Mary loved gardening and she had a really funny perspective on planting flowers. She would plant the flower pot with flowers. She figured, this way, if she didn’t like how they looked when she planted them, she could easily rearrange them. She also had a great love for animals – a real animal attraction as they just seemed to gravitate toward her. Over the years she took in many under her already full wings in addition to all the pets the family already had.
Mary and Bill enjoyed a wonderful, blessed life together. When they were younger, they enjoyed great times down at Seaside Heights with Mary’s brother Eddy and his wife Rose. The ladies would sun themselves on the beach and their men would bring them afternoon whiskey sours. For their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Mary and Bill took a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. They marked their fiftieth anniversary with a huge dinner celebration at the Brownstone House and their sixtieth on a Circle Line Cruise in New York City. Family was so very important and Mary loved setting aside Sunday as a rest day by hosting extended family. There was always Sunday swimming at the house and games of lawn darts, horseshoes and Mary’s favorite – badminton.
In between all of that, Mary still found time for more! A long-time dancer with the Spinning Wheels Square Dance Club, she loved it and the countless friends she made through her participation. She also was a very giving person who always had time for those in need. Even as a senior citizen herself she would say things like “I have to go help the seniors” and help them she did! She’d take them shopping or to doctor appointments or do whatever they needed.
Mary was a loving, kind, warm and sharing soul. Her children described her as the best hugger in the world who was there in a heartbeat for them when they called – sometimes even in her pajamas. She was a great family lady who always said, “Don’t get old” and “Promise when I’m gone that you will always stay together.” Since she and Bill were such wonderful examples of family love, odds are pretty good that she’ll get her wish.
Mary (Malik) Kudla will be remembered by her amiable disposition and charm of personality and surly be missed by those who she has touched over the years.
Surviving to mourn her loss but celebrate her life are her beloved husband William “Bill”, her six dear children: Marion Velechko of Hamden, NY, Patricia Kudla of Tuxedo, NY, Barbara Rissman of Tionesta, CA, Kenneth Kudla of Wayne, Kim Kudla-Nieves of Warwick, NY and Darlene Kudla of Highland Lakes NJ; cherished grandmother of seven grandchildren: Kelly Garry (predeceased), Stacy Toner of Harpswell, ME, Bryson Nieves of Warwick, NY, Erin Addison of St. John, WA, Jessica Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Joshua Rissman of New Orleans. LA, and Michael Rissman of Klamath Falls, OR; adored great-grandmother of seven great-grandchildren: Caitlyn Rohmert of Boonton, Alyssa Addison of St. John, WA, Brandon Valencia of Orangevale, CA, Jesse Addison of St. John WA, Jayson Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Aiden Odle of Klamath Falls, OR, and Rusty Addison of St. John, WA.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Mary’s name are asked to consider the St. Vincent’s Nursing Home, 315 East Lindsley Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, February 20, 2016 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Mary’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, February 20, 2016 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. A Funeral Service in celebration of Mary’s life will immediately follow the memorial visitation time and begin in the funeral home at 3:30 PM.
Mary Kudla, a longtime resident of Wayne and formerly of Clifton, passed peacefully on the morning of Monday, February 15, 2016. She was 89.
Born in Wallkill, NY, Mary was the seventh child born to Joseph and Eva Malik. She grew up in Wawayanda, NY with her four brothers and three sisters. When she turned eighteen, she was all grown up and ready to experience life in the city. Mary took the train and moved to Passaic, NJ and began working in the textile mills. She probably picked up some sewing, knitting and crocheting skills which would pay off in the future, but more about that later.
One day in 1945, while standing in front of an ice cream parlor near Fourth Street in Passaic with some of her friends, Mary laid her eyes on a real dreamboat! He was tall and sculpted – a stunningly handsome looking man in his U.S. Marine uniform, home on leave while serving in World War II and the recipient of two purple hearts which were awarded to him for valor and bravery in defending his country’s freedoms and liberty. Mary somehow made sure to make his acquaintance. His name was William “Bill” Kudla and meeting him that day would forever change the course of her life and his too. They fell in love and the following year were married on April 28, 1946 at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in Passaic.
After the wedding, Mary and Bill initially settled on Lisbon Street in Clifton with Bill’s parents in a two-family house. A year later the stork made their first delivery. Mary and Bill were blessed with Marion, their firstborn. Three years later Patricia was delivered. This growing family moved, this time to Kulick Street, still in Clifton. Soon after, in 1956, they bought land in Wayne and, with the help of Bill’s step-dad Frank Szwed who was a mason by trade, Frank, Bill and Mary began building their new home at Alps Road, brick by brick by brick. In 1959 the stork visited their new home bringing Barbara #3. Next arrivals were Kenneth #4, Kim #5 and Darlene #6. Mary and Bill raised all their children in that home on Alps Road and it’s still the Kudla residence to this day.
The grass never had a chance to grow under Mary’s feet. One would think that raising six children would be enough, but Mary always had gas left in the tank for more. Her children have great childhood memories of the adventures that Mary would take them on – adventures like trips to the Land of Make Believe, Wild West City, Great Adventure and Seaside Heights. She always made time for them and it was always out of love and never out of obligation. What’s amazing is that Mary was also an integral part the family business that her beloved Bill and his brother Emil started. If you ever wondered who supplies the florists with frames you can stop wondering now. The business was called Kudla Florist Supply and while Bill and Emil were working their primary jobs, Mary was the biggest gear in that machine. She made most of the deliveries to the various florists out of their warehouse location in Passaic. A picture of Mary with one of her children under one arm and easels under the other arm would be a pretty accurate description. The children grew up in the business and have fond memories of those deliveries in the old Chevy box truck. Mary was also the primary bookkeeper and she never really retired.
So if you thought raising six children and running a florist supply business would be enough for Mary, you would still be wrong. In her “spare time” she put those skills she learned back in the Passaic textile mills to work. Mary was an expert at sewing, knitting and crocheting. Mary always spoke about learning to knit and crochet when she was very young and continued into her senior years. She had her own business cards – Mary’s Needle Crafts. She was so skillful, she built up quite a following and people would come to her with custom orders. Mary loved gardening and she had a really funny perspective on planting flowers. She would plant the flower pot with flowers. She figured, this way, if she didn’t like how they looked when she planted them, she could easily rearrange them. She also had a great love for animals – a real animal attraction as they just seemed to gravitate toward her. Over the years she took in many under her already full wings in addition to all the pets the family already had.
Mary and Bill enjoyed a wonderful, blessed life together. When they were younger, they enjoyed great times down at Seaside Heights with Mary’s brother Eddy and his wife Rose. The ladies would sun themselves on the beach and their men would bring them afternoon whiskey sours. For their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Mary and Bill took a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. They marked their fiftieth anniversary with a huge dinner celebration at the Brownstone House and their sixtieth on a Circle Line Cruise in New York City. Family was so very important and Mary loved setting aside Sunday as a rest day by hosting extended family. There was always Sunday swimming at the house and games of lawn darts, horseshoes and Mary’s favorite – badminton.
In between all of that, Mary still found time for more! A long-time dancer with the Spinning Wheels Square Dance Club, she loved it and the countless friends she made through her participation. She also was a very giving person who always had time for those in need. Even as a senior citizen herself she would say things like “I have to go help the seniors” and help them she did! She’d take them shopping or to doctor appointments or do whatever they needed.
Mary was a loving, kind, warm and sharing soul. Her children described her as the best hugger in the world who was there in a heartbeat for them when they called – sometimes even in her pajamas. She was a great family lady who always said, “Don’t get old” and “Promise when I’m gone that you will always stay together.” Since she and Bill were such wonderful examples of family love, odds are pretty good that she’ll get her wish.
Mary (Malik) Kudla will be remembered by her amiable disposition and charm of personality and surly be missed by those who she has touched over the years.
Surviving to mourn her loss but celebrate her life are her beloved husband William “Bill”, her six dear children: Marion Velechko of Hamden, NY, Patricia Kudla of Tuxedo, NY, Barbara Rissman of Tionesta, CA, Kenneth Kudla of Wayne, Kim Kudla-Nieves of Warwick, NY and Darlene Kudla of Highland Lakes NJ; cherished grandmother of seven grandchildren: Kelly Garry (predeceased), Stacy Toner of Harpswell, ME, Bryson Nieves of Warwick, NY, Erin Addison of St. John, WA, Jessica Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Joshua Rissman of New Orleans. LA, and Michael Rissman of Klamath Falls, OR; adored great-grandmother of seven great-grandchildren: Caitlyn Rohmert of Boonton, Alyssa Addison of St. John, WA, Brandon Valencia of Orangevale, CA, Jesse Addison of St. John WA, Jayson Peabody of Orangevale, CA, Aiden Odle of Klamath Falls, OR, and Rusty Addison of St. John, WA.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Mary’s name are asked to consider the St. Vincent’s Nursing Home, 315 East Lindsley Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009.
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