Virginia Caparso Corrado

Incredibly loved wife and mother Virginia Caparso Corrado, of Totowa, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 30, 2021.

Virginia was the third-born of Alberto and Maria (Mariani) Caparso’s four children and, unlike her two older brothers born before her, she was the first to be born in America when her parents and brothers emigrated from Pacemtro, Italy, just three months before she was born. Virginia grew up in Paterson and attended Kennedy High School where she had great fun being a majorette in the school’s marching band. One of her favorite classes in high school was Decca where her natural-born creative gifts really shined as she competed with students in other schools in retail store merchandising and window display design.

After graduating from Kennedy High School with the Class of 1974, Virginia enrolled in Capri Institute of Hair Design in Clifton. She loved the profession she was pursuing and went on to excel in her craft for many years as a hair stylist with various hair salons including Anthony DeNuccio’s in Fair Lawn, Salon East 216 in Ridgewood, Gisu Salon and Spa in Wayne, and, most recently at the Loft Salon in Wayne where she helped out while concurrently working as a fashion consultant at Talbot’s Women’s Clothing and Apparel in Upper Montclair.

While Virginia was working at Salon East 216, the owner hired a new assistant by the name of Keith Corrado. It happened to be a time in Virginia’s life when she was particularly concerned about her father who was ill and her younger sister Ann Marie who was suffering with Cerebral Palsy. One day, while kicking back and taking a lunch break, the new guy Keith sensed a bit of heaviness in Virginia’s heart and quietly approached her see if she was ok. Virginia was usually a fairly private person but Keith’s gentle, sensitivity helped her open up and proved to be a true encouragement. As they got to know each other a bit more, Virginia accepted Keith’s offer for a night out for dinner. When Keith came to Virginia’s home to pick her up, he noticed that he recognized some of her relatives in the family photos in her apartment. Much to his surprise, the people he saw in the photos turned out to be some of his clients at a salon he formerly worked at. Talk about a small world! One of those clients was Virginia’s niece who would tell Keith, “I have a nice aunt that I could introduce you to.” Wrongly picturing an older woman, Keith politely dismissed Virginia’s niece’s offer. As he looked more at the photos, the light bulb in Keith’s mind lit up as he suddenly realized that Virginia was “the aunt” that her niece was trying to set Keith up with. Looking back, Keith and Virginia would often laugh about that. Well, for that first date they enjoyed an evening together at Mt Fuji Japanese Steakhouse just over the border in Hillburn, NY. Many dates after that ultimately led to a spontaneous proposal of marriage from Keith that Virginia excitedly accepted. They invited family and friends to witness the exchange of their wedding promises on Sunday, August 29, 1999 at St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes. After a two week honeymoon in Hawaii, this newly married couple started life together formally as husband and wife in an apartment in Wayne. Six months later, they purchased the former home of Keith’s grandparents in Totowa where they’ve been ever since.

Two years after the wedding, Virginia and Keith’s son Brandon was welcomed into this world with open arms. Virginia’s life was changed forever. With assistance from Keith and God himself, Virginia considered Brandon her greatest accomplishment and her new life purpose. A special bond quickly developed and continued to flourish throughout Brandon’s formative years to the present. Virginia was always Brandon’s greatest cheerleader!

Virginia, Keith and Brandon cherished lots of happy memories together. They loved taking trips to Cape May, Wildwood, and Lavallette – ironically usually choosing to sit poolside at a hotel rather than venture into the unknown waters of the Atlantic. There was a special trip to Newport Rhode Island where they stayed in one of the famous mansions and occasional ventures into the city for a walk in Central Park or an evenings on Broadway to catch a show.

If “most creative” was an Olympic event, Virginia would probably have won the most gold medals in every category. Blessed with enviable creative gifts, everything her magic hands worked on became a thing of beauty. As a young woman, she enjoyed competing in ballroom dancing competitions. To Virginia, her home was a palette and she the artist. She loved decorating and her special touch was everywhere in the Corrado’s house. She also took cooking to a new level of artistry and, though her culinary repertoire was extensive, husband Keith especially loved her homemade gnocchi and son Brandon her delicious soups. One might ask, what fun is a welcomingly decorated home and sumptuous food if it’s not shared with others. Virginia had that covered too. In fact, every year she looked forward to the big holidays and hosting family and friends at her home. She was the unofficial family florist for events both big and small and she had “sew” much fun as a seamstress. As he was growing up, Virginia made all of Brandon’s Halloween costumes and continued to make them for his many recent acting performances. One year while she and Keith were working together at Gisu Salon, she got the great idea that all the staff should dress up for Halloween like the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Virginia made every one of the costumes. Keith was the Scarecrow and she was none other than Dorothy herself.

Virginia built her life on the foundation of her love for God. Until becoming too sick to attend mass, she was a faithful parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne where she also taught CCD classes. She lived life in a spirit of gratefulness for all the blessings she enjoyed and found great joy in showing love and blessing others. Side-by-side with her hubby, she loved hosting haircutting cut-a-thon fundraising events for worthy causes, and cooking for the down-and-out.

Virginia and Keith were so blessed to share life together. Keith adored her and when asked for words that described his wife, the first words that came to his mind were “beautiful in every imaginable way.” As she became increasingly ill, Keith lovingly and faithfully assisted Virginia as best he could. If you see Keith walking around with holes in the knees of his pants they got there from kneeling down so often to lovingly feed her.

Virginia was beautiful – a real lady with an unassuming sense of modesty. Her zest for life was contagious. She was a true example of genuineness, love and consideration. Her imprint on many lives will serve as a continuous legacy she has left behind.

Virginia was the most beloved wife of her devoted husband Keith Corrado, blessed in marriage for twenty-one years; adoring mother of her son Brandon of Totowa, dear sister of Sam Caparso and wife Diane of Toms River, Joseph Caparso and wife Maryann of Toms River, and Anna Marie Caparso who passed away in 2002; and dear aunt of numerous nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind her faithful pooch Connor who was always by her side.

Those planning an expression of sympathy in Virginia’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (www.stjude.org).