Paula Pedersen

Paula V. Pedersen, age 81, of Wayne, passed away peacefully, with her loving family by her side, on Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Paula was born and raised in Paterson. The youngest of Angelo and Lucia (Romei) Turrise’s three daughters, she graduated from Central High School as the valedictorian with the Class of 1959. From high school, Paula enrolled in the Paterson General Hospital Nursing School where she became a registered nurse. She later furthered her education earning her BSN from William Paterson College and, being the renaissance woman that she was, her master’s degree from NYU. While attending NYU, she was pregnant with her youngest daughter Megan. One night , right in the middle of class, she went into labor. Her good friend Toni was with her and, while helping her get home, she kept exclaiming to Paula the whole way, “I’m doing the best I can! Remember, I’m a cardiac nurse, not a labor and delivery nurse.”

The bulk of Paula’s career was working in the service of others in home health care and visiting nurses as the Director of Home Care for Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. She loved her work and was extremely accomplished in her role. She felt a calling to helping patients and, even when she retired in 2005, Paula just couldn’t really stop working, so she took a position with CAHC as an auditor of home healthcare organizations that were seeking accreditation. Paula remained in the service of CAHC as recently as just one year ago, retiring fully in 2022. 

If you asked Paula what energized her the most, she would admit that it was work. A close second would have been her service to the Lord. She was a devout Catholic who walked very close with God. For many years, Paula was a parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne where she volunteered as a eucharistic minister serving communion to the homebound. She also headed up the church’s bereavement ministry where she ran many workshops.

In those somewhat rare moments when she wasn’t working, Paula enjoyed spending time at her beach house down the Jersey shore in LBI. It was a wonderful getaway and she loved it when her children and grandchildren came to visit. Paula was also a pretty darn-good cook and for more years than she could count, her family enjoyed the time-tested tradition of gathering at her house on Sundays for dinner. Paula did all the cooking and all of her children and grandchildren rarely missed the opportunity to enjoy her home cooked meals. A true family favorite was her Italian sauce with meatballs. That’s a memory that her family will always cherish in their hearts. 

Paula was a dear soul. She would do anything for anybody. She had a generous heart – just ask her family. At Christmas time, the pile of gifts she gave everyone would have been enough to make Santa blush, and at Easter time, all of her grandchildren received the best Easter baskets they could dream of. While she will be truly missed, her family and friends are grateful for her life and for the privilege of having been part of it.  

Paula was the loving mother of: Lori Paylo of Lincoln Park, Dennis Paylo and wife Tracey of Wayne, Valerie Pedersen of Wilmington, NC, and Megan Van Peenen and husband Jeff of Lincoln Park; dear grandmother of: Amanda, John, Emily, Victoria, Grace, Tyler, Addisyn, Michael, and Savanna; and dear sister of Chickie Giustino of Toms River. She was predeceased by her sister Gloria Reinhardt, her son-in-law Dave Gandomski, and her two brothers-in-law: Frank Reinhardt and Gene Giustino. 

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

Valley Hospital Foundation

Please designate that your gift is for Hospice Care in memory of Paula Pedersen.

If you care to send a check, please send to:

The Valley Hospital Foundation

223 North Van Dien Avenue

Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Please designate that your gift is for Hospice Care in memory of Paula Pedersen.