Maryanne Powers

Maryann Powers (nee Cauda), age 66 of Wayne, died on Saturday, April 22, 2023. She’s lived in Wayne since 1991.

Maryann grew up in Cliffside Park, NJ and graduated from Cliffside Park High School in 1974. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree from Felician College, and later her Master’s Degree in Cytotechnology from UMDNJ. She retired in 2019 after more than twenty years with Quest Diagnostics where she had been a Clinical Trial Project Manager in Teterboro.

Maryann enjoyed life, had a great sense of humor, and she was incredibly crafty. She loved sewing and quilting, scrapbooking (or as her husband describes it; cutting big pieces of paper into little pieces of paper), she was a talented calligrapher, and played the harp and piano. She was generous to a fault and there are plenty of friends to affirm that.

In 1973, Jesse Powers found himself sitting behind Maryann in high school. They quickly became friends and one day she asked him for a ride home from school. As it turned out, she lived less than a block from the school, and this was just her way of getting to know him a little better. They were married on January 27, 1979 at St. John’s Church in Fairview followed by a honeymoon to Spain. They settled in Bergenfield upon their return, and then moved to Wayne in 1991. Throughout the years, they traveled extensively to places like Italy, France, Scotland, Mexico, Hawaii, and all around the Caribbean. Her favorite place to visit was Venice, Italy. Jesse will tell you they were all good years and they had lots of fun together. Maryann was also a devoted mother to her three children. They describe her as a true “Mamma Bear” who was always quick to defend them, and who loved them more than anything. Maryann also loved her granddaughter, Kacie, more than words could ever describe. They will all miss her dearly.

Maryann is survived by her beloved husband Jesse of Wayne, their three children: Adam Powers and his husband Robert of Brooklyn, Ashley Rockwell and her husband Norm of Windham, ME, and Kelly Powers and her husband Brian of W. Milford, NJ, one granddaughter; Kacie Basile and two brothers: John Cauda of Demarest, and Glenn Cauda and his wife Louise of Henderson, NV.