Rosemary Oliver

Rosemary Oliver (nee Sulli), age 73, of Wayne passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 while receiving the loving care of her family.

Rosemary was born in New York City and lived on East 13th Street.  When she was around nine years old, Rosemary and her family moved to West Paterson, NJ.  Rosemary attended St Bonaventure Grammar and High School in Paterson and graduated with the class of 1965.  She was an excellent student and loved school, including homework. During her high school years, she enjoyed  spending time with her friends and hanging out at Pappy’s Diner in Totowa.  One night while getting together with some friends in Bloomfield, she met a handsome young man by the name of Dennis Oliver.  Dennis was quite taken with Rosemary and was very persistent in trying to get a date with her.  She finally agreed to go out with him, and as fate would have it, they fell in love. Rosemary and Dennis were married in 1969 at St Bonaventure Church in Paterson, followed by a honeymoon in Bermuda.  They resided in an apartment in Paterson for a few years after their wedding, and then shortly after the birth of their first child, the couple bought a house in West Paterson.  During their time living there, Rosemary and Dennis welcomed two more children.  In 1979, the Olivers moved to Wayne where they would spend their life together and raise their three kids.

Rosemary was dedicated to nurturing and caring for her family.  This was Rosemary’s true calling and where she flourished.  Rosemary loved to bake and was a great cook. She especially enjoyed preparing (and eating) Italian food and loved all the traditions of her heritage. She cherished hosting family events such as birthdays and graduations.  She also loved planning and hosting all the family holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and New Year’s.  Rosemary was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.  She was always there for her children, and would fiercely defend them if need be. She was sure to always be class mom, Girl Scout troop leader, CCD teacher, den mother, dance class and sports spectator, car pool driver, and so on.

After Rosemary’s children grew up, she followed through on a promise she had made to herself and went back to college.  She enrolled in William Paterson University at age 48, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Education and Child Development.  While attending classes and after earning her degree, Rosemary held a position as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher in Paterson for children with special needs; work that she genuinely loved. Despite her dream and adoration of teaching, she ultimately decided to open two Curves gyms for women with one of her sons. There, she found a new outlet doing what she excelled at - helping people and chit-chatting. She made many friends throughout her years working at Curves. However, once she became a grandmother, Rosemary left Curves in order to focus on babysitting and helping to care for her beloved grandchildren.  Nothing meant more to her than spending time with and providing for her husband, children, and grandchildren.

Rosemary always loved to express her thoughts in writing.  She kept in depth and extensive memoirs and diaries of her family’s events and history. She has a collection of her own creative writings, many of them being poems, and most are about her family. Reading was also a favorite past time of Rosemary’s.  Earlier in her life she enjoyed reading novels (especially the classics) however, her most treasured reading became the Holy Bible, daily devotionals,  and books about Christianity.  She  loved listening to Christian music.  Rosemary was extremely dedicated to her faith. For almost the last twenty years, Rosemary was a member of Abundant Life Worship Center in Lincoln Park, where she enjoyed being active with her family and many friends. She had a special knack for getting people to join her at church. Rosemary was a kind, thoughtful, and generous person who touched the lives of many, and will be greatly missed by all that knew her.

Rosemary is survived by her husband Dennis Oliver of Wayne, one daughter; Taryn Buglione and her husband Albert of Wayne, two sons; Marc Oliver and his wife Hillary of Lake Hiawatha, and Michael Oliver and his wife Alexandra of Maplewood, one brother, Michael Sulli and his wife Mary of Lakewood, Colorado, and eight grandchildren; Amelia, AJ, Sierra, Elaina, Isla, Addison, Makenzie, and Everett.  She was predeceased by her sister Elaine Sulli.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a donation in Rosemary’s name are asked to consider Abundant Life Worship Center, 103 Jacksonville Rd, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035.http://www.alwclp.org/