Sylvia Seylaz

Sylvia Seylaz, age 79 of Whiting, NJ, died on December 15, 2021. Sylvia had lived in Wayne for thirty years before retiring to Whiting in 2002. She was affectionately known as “B,” a reference to her husband having always called her “babe” during their marriage.

Sylvia grew up in Irvington and Newark. She met her husband, Richard, in 1959 and they quickly fell in love. They married in 1960 at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Irvington and settled in Colonia, NJ, where they began a family. In 1972, they moved to Wayne. She and Richard had a lot of fun together and they especially enjoyed the trotters at the Meadowlands. They even owned several horses over the years. They made wonderful friends and great memories at the Meadowlands. Sylvia was also a league bowler, winning many trophies throughout the years, and she loved to crochet Afghans. She took many trips to Atlantic City where she would play Poker or the penny slots for hours at a time, and she loved playing cards with friends at her community clubhouse.

Sylvia’s home in Wayne became a hub of activity. Her friends, and her children’s friends, gravitated there, and it was always the center of activity. She loved to cook and was an excellent baker. Feeding people was a sort of hobby for her, and her food was always delicious, certainly one of the reasons her house was so busy! Sylvia was gregarious, funny, loved to laugh, and was generous to a fault. Of course, she could be unbearably stubborn at times, but she did things on her own terms and you always knew where you stood with her. She pulled no punches. She was a loyal and loving friend to many.

Sylvia is survived by her three children; Dawn Lisa and her husband Michael of Bloomingdale, Richard Seylaz and his wife Juli of Wayne, William Seylaz of Bloomingdale, two brothers; John Araneo and his wife Kaye of Jacksonville, FL, and Chester Araneo and his wife Lucille of Denville, NJ, and five grandchildren; Trevor Seylaz, Derek and Eliana Driesse, Kristin Seylaz, and Sera Rose Lisa. She was predeceased by her husband, Richard, in 1989.