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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 3-5 & 7-9 PM. Funeral services will be held at 10 AM on Friday, April 17, 2015 at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Winifred “Sue” Gutowski, age 77, of Wayne, died peacefully in the evening of Monday, April 13, 2015.
When preparing this "life story" of my mother I thought about her life. She was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She was so many things to so many people. She was born in Wilkes Barre, PA, the youngest daughter of Winifred Conahan. Her brother George was the oldest, followed by her brother Robert. They all lived in New York City for a time. As a single parent it was difficult for my grandmother so she sent my mother and Robert to live with a friend of a friend in Worcester, MA. My grandmother would visit occasionally, however she was raised by a lovely woman and her husband until she was 16 and then returned to New York City, where she graduated high school in 1955.
Even in New York City, the big metropolis that it was, neighborhoods naturally formed. My mother was extremely shy and had led a pretty sheltered life. That was until she met my father, her future husband Bill Gutowski, and he charmed her with a smile as big as “The Big Apple” itself. At the time they met, mom was still in high school and dad was working at this point. Instead of taking her to the high school prom, he took her to a local night club! Their courtship was brief as they married on Saturday, December 1, 1956 at St. Stephen’s Church in Manhattan. This was the same day that Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” was the number one song on the charts for the fifth week in a row. Following the wedding, they took a brief honeymoon at Niagara Falls, and then settled into their life in New York City.
As a young married couple, Mom and Dad regularly enjoyed good times at New York City night clubs – their favorite being The Copacabana. There they saw such famous entertainers as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.
In 1957, they were blessed with a daughter (me lol) – Bernadette, and three years later, with another girl – Susan. The family moved to Wayne in 1967 where she remained to the present time. In addition to being a stay at home mom, she served as office manager for two of my father's businesses: Coral Pools of Wayne, and later Coral Limousine Corporation of Wayne. She was also a fantastic mother, I mean the best! With her easy-going, always smiling, positive disposition, our home was the place where family and friends loved to gather. In 1982 I married Joe Solari and she was blessed with two grandsons, William in 1984 and Joseph in 1986. She was the consummate “Kool-Aid” mom and grandma, and the house was always filled with our friends and my children's friends. Her and my father never missed a game or event that the boys had. Bill & Joseph were the boys they never had! Susan married Frank Gorman and moved to have a successful life in real estate in Pennsylvania. Mom, having no real training or experience in the kitchen, was a wonderful cook and held holidays and barbeques all the time. She had a knack of never running out of food. During the summer the pool was constantly the place where friends and family gathered. There was always a pot of coffee on and a cup waiting for you. She had taught me how to be the mother that I am today and for that I am eternally grateful.
My parents had many great years together, traveling all over the world with favorite destinations including Mexico, Italy, Spain, Europe and Aruba. She loved basking in the sun or spending the day going deep sea fishing, one time catching a 110 pound sail fish! She loved cruises as well as going gambling in Atlantic City and Las Vegas where she always played the slots.
She was also a community minded person, and was one of the original founders of the Wayne Boys & Girls Club. She helped getting the cheerleading program started and worked Bingo for years. Whenever there was fundraising going on she was there to lend her support. She made many life-long friends there. My mother always had a pleasant smile that just encouraged you and made you feel good. She not only became a friend, she became like a sister or a mother to anyone that met her. Even during her last months at the nursing facility, she always had a kind word or smile for everyone she met. The staff became her extended family.
She was a loving and supportive wife, mother and grandmother who greatest satisfaction and joy was being with and loving her family and friends.
Unfortunately, like everyone else, she had her share of heartaches. My sister Susan was diagnosed with lung & brain cancer and after fighting the fight for two years lost the battle and passed away in 2010. Then in 2011, she lost her lifelong partner and husband, Bill, and her life was never the same. She was also predeceased by her two brothers: George and Robert Klein.
I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. There is a hole in my heart that I can say for sure will never close. I am sure if you knew her you are saying the same. So please keep thinking of happy times spent with my mother and she will live in our hearts forever..........
Bernadette
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Sue’s name are asked to consider the Wayne Boys & Girls Club, 153 Garside Avenue, Wayne, N.J. 07470.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 3-5 & 7-9 PM. Funeral services will be held at 10 AM on Friday, April 17, 2015 at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 3-5 & 7-9 PM. Funeral services will be held at 10 AM on Friday, April 17, 2015 at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa.
Winifred “Sue” Gutowski, age 77, of Wayne, died peacefully in the evening of Monday, April 13, 2015.
When preparing this "life story" of my mother I thought about her life. She was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She was so many things to so many people. She was born in Wilkes Barre, PA, the youngest daughter of Winifred Conahan. Her brother George was the oldest, followed by her brother Robert. They all lived in New York City for a time. As a single parent it was difficult for my grandmother so she sent my mother and Robert to live with a friend of a friend in Worcester, MA. My grandmother would visit occasionally, however she was raised by a lovely woman and her husband until she was 16 and then returned to New York City, where she graduated high school in 1955.
Even in New York City, the big metropolis that it was, neighborhoods naturally formed. My mother was extremely shy and had led a pretty sheltered life. That was until she met my father, her future husband Bill Gutowski, and he charmed her with a smile as big as “The Big Apple” itself. At the time they met, mom was still in high school and dad was working at this point. Instead of taking her to the high school prom, he took her to a local night club! Their courtship was brief as they married on Saturday, December 1, 1956 at St. Stephen’s Church in Manhattan. This was the same day that Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” was the number one song on the charts for the fifth week in a row. Following the wedding, they took a brief honeymoon at Niagara Falls, and then settled into their life in New York City.
As a young married couple, Mom and Dad regularly enjoyed good times at New York City night clubs – their favorite being The Copacabana. There they saw such famous entertainers as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.
In 1957, they were blessed with a daughter (me lol) – Bernadette, and three years later, with another girl – Susan. The family moved to Wayne in 1967 where she remained to the present time. In addition to being a stay at home mom, she served as office manager for two of my father's businesses: Coral Pools of Wayne, and later Coral Limousine Corporation of Wayne. She was also a fantastic mother, I mean the best! With her easy-going, always smiling, positive disposition, our home was the place where family and friends loved to gather. In 1982 I married Joe Solari and she was blessed with two grandsons, William in 1984 and Joseph in 1986. She was the consummate “Kool-Aid” mom and grandma, and the house was always filled with our friends and my children's friends. Her and my father never missed a game or event that the boys had. Bill & Joseph were the boys they never had! Susan married Frank Gorman and moved to have a successful life in real estate in Pennsylvania. Mom, having no real training or experience in the kitchen, was a wonderful cook and held holidays and barbeques all the time. She had a knack of never running out of food. During the summer the pool was constantly the place where friends and family gathered. There was always a pot of coffee on and a cup waiting for you. She had taught me how to be the mother that I am today and for that I am eternally grateful.
My parents had many great years together, traveling all over the world with favorite destinations including Mexico, Italy, Spain, Europe and Aruba. She loved basking in the sun or spending the day going deep sea fishing, one time catching a 110 pound sail fish! She loved cruises as well as going gambling in Atlantic City and Las Vegas where she always played the slots.
She was also a community minded person, and was one of the original founders of the Wayne Boys & Girls Club. She helped getting the cheerleading program started and worked Bingo for years. Whenever there was fundraising going on she was there to lend her support. She made many life-long friends there. My mother always had a pleasant smile that just encouraged you and made you feel good. She not only became a friend, she became like a sister or a mother to anyone that met her. Even during her last months at the nursing facility, she always had a kind word or smile for everyone she met. The staff became her extended family.
She was a loving and supportive wife, mother and grandmother who greatest satisfaction and joy was being with and loving her family and friends.
Unfortunately, like everyone else, she had her share of heartaches. My sister Susan was diagnosed with lung & brain cancer and after fighting the fight for two years lost the battle and passed away in 2010. Then in 2011, she lost her lifelong partner and husband, Bill, and her life was never the same. She was also predeceased by her two brothers: George and Robert Klein.
I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. There is a hole in my heart that I can say for sure will never close. I am sure if you knew her you are saying the same. So please keep thinking of happy times spent with my mother and she will live in our hearts forever..........
Bernadette
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Sue’s name are asked to consider the Wayne Boys & Girls Club, 153 Garside Avenue, Wayne, N.J. 07470.
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