Patricia Lavore

Patricia Lavore, age 61, of Wayne and formerly of Shelbyville, IN passed away peacefully on Monday, June 28, 2021 while receiving the loving care of her family.

Trish was born in Hackensack and was raised in Hasbrouck Heights.  She was the second youngest of four children to Paul and Gail Gelewski.  As a young girl, Trish attended high school at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township and graduated with the class of 1978.

Following her high school graduation, Trish found work quickly as a dispatcher with Airbrook Limousine in Rochelle Park.  While employed as a dispatcher, Trish’s boss offered her a position as a hostess on buses taking seniors on day trips to Atlantic City.  Over the next few years traveling to and from Atlantic City, Trish made connections with people in AC and was offered a position in the hospitality services department at the Tropicana Casino.  Trish worked there for a number of years and was then transferred to Evansville, Indiana where she was sent to assist in the opening of the Casino Aztar.  Trish was employed at the Casino Aztar for almost fifteen years where she held the executive position of Vice President of Marketing / General Manager.  Trish loved her work and the people she worked with.  She made it a point to be involved in every aspect of the casino, always making sure the casino was clean and organized to her liking.   In 2009, Trish accepted another position, again as Vice President of Marketing, this time with Indiana Live Casino in Shelbyville, IN.  Trish held this position for about five years when her health issues forced her to stop working.

While Trish was employed at the Tropicana in South Jersey, she found a home and lived in Mays Landing. During her time in Mays Landing, Trish welcomed the births of her two daughters, Taylor in 1990, and Giana in 1993.  In 1995, Trish and her daughters moved to Newburgh, IN where Trish was relocating for her career.  After Trish was no longer able to work, she moved to Wayne, NJ where she moved in with her daughter Taylor and her husband Chris.  Trish never had much time for hobbies due to her demanding career and outstanding work ethic. Trish’s greatest passion was always her family and nothing in the world meant more to Trish than providing for and spending time with them.  While living in Indiana, Trish and her family treasured making the fourteen hour drive from Indiana to New Jersey for their yearly two week summer family vacation at Seacrest Beach on the Jersey Shore. After moving back to New Jersey, Taylor’s mother-in-law, Cathy Bodtmann, became a close friend and dedicated caregiver to Trish.

Trish was a fun loving person who was always able to find the funny side of things and situations.  Trish also had the wonderful quality of being able to laugh at herself and make jokes at her own expense.  She had an infectious laugh and always made the people around her smile.  She was the kind of person you couldn’t help but like and want to be around.  For a few years, because of her health issues, Trish had a speech therapist whom she would meet with frequently.  The therapy Trish needed to receive was tedious to her, so she took the liberty to teach her Speech Therapist the card game, Rummy 500.  Trish and her therapist would play while she received her therapy.  Since then, her Speech Therapist now incorporates Rummy 500 into all of her patient’s therapy sessions.  Trish was truly a special person who touched the lives of many people and will be sincerely missed by her family and friends.

Trish is survived by her two daughters, Taylor Lavore and her husband Christopher Bodtmann of Wayne, NJ, and Giana Lavore of Shelbyville, IN, her mother Gail Connolly of Upper Saddle River, NJ, two sisters, Jan Melli of Los Angeles, CA, and Jody Peltz and her husband George of Apopka, FL, one brother Michael Gelewski and his wife Lisa of Glen Rock, NJ, one grandchild, Josephine Bodtmann of Wayne, NJ and many loving nieces and nephews.  She was predeceased by her father Paul Gelewski in 2017.