Marie Margaret Rispoli

October 21, 1934 – December 19, 2021

Marie Rispoli, 87, of Budd Lake, NJ passed away surrounded by her children at St Clare’s Hospital in Denville, NJ on December 19, 2021

She is survived by her son, John Mazzucca, her daughters Lynn Plemenik and Lisa Hayes, and her son James Mazzucca, her three grandchildren, Victoria (Hayes) and husband AJ Merlino, Ryan Hayes and Jonathan Plemenik, and a true joy and blessing in the last year of her life, great grandson Hudson Merlino.

Marie was born on October 21, 1934 on Staten Island, NY, the fifth of six children to Anthony and Mary (Gagliardi) Rispoli.  She was raised in a household filled with an abundance of love, laughter, tradition, Italian cooking and devotion to family.  Her selfless nature, kind and gentle spirit, and her genuine joy at giving unto others was cultivated and nurtured from the earliest days of her childhood and would serve as the heart and soul of her being throughout her life.  She graduated from Curtis High School in 1952 and rode the Staten Island Ferry each day to work at the Bank of New York in Manhattan.  She subsequently met and married Philip Mazzucca in 1957 and moved on to devote herself to raising her family.

In 1973, with four children in tow, the family relocated to the community of Forest Lakes in Byram Township, NJ.  As in her children’s earlier years, she continued to embrace their new friends as well as those of her own.  Throughout her lifetime, all were warmly welcomed into her home and into her life.

She was an amazing cook and that was certainly never more on display than during the holidays when large gatherings of family and friends were treated to multicourse feasts that would span an entire day, accompanied by hours of love and laughter.  And her baking talent was off the charts…especially for Christmas!  She would spend weeks preparing countless varieties of Italian cookies, butter and sugar cookies, brownies and cream puffs and eclairs, delicious pies, and the most awesome cheesecake.  She would assemble beautifully wrapped platters which would be lovingly provided to family, friends and coworkers.  These creations may have come from her kitchen but in all actuality they came from her heart as one of the many joyful expressions of her devotion to pleasing others.

In 1982, after all of her children had completed High School, Marie returned to the workforce after her “brief” 25 year hiatus of complete devotion to raising a family.  She was employed by Sidmak Labs/PLIVA in East Hanover, NJ as a Customer Service Manager until her retirement at the end of 2005.

Marie was preceded in death by her parents Anthony & Mary, her brothers Gabriel “Gabe” Rispoli, Anthony “Butch” Rispoli, and sisters Andriana “Ann” Heffernan, Amelia “Millie” Nacchio and Josephine “Josie” Girello.  We are deeply saddened with the loss of our dear mother from our daily lives yet we take great comfort in knowing that she has moved on to a place of eternal peace.  We know that our lives were blessed with her beautiful soul and we will forever hold our memories of her close to our hearts.

A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at Cochran Funeral Home, 905 High Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840 on Saturday, February 26.

Visitation will be from 1:00 – 2:30 PM followed by the Memorial Service which will begin at 2:30 PM.

A Repast Dinner with Marie’s family in nearby Byram Township will follow the conclusion of the Memorial Service and an invitation is extended to all who wish to attend.

Those wishing to leave an online condolence may do so at www.cochranfuneral.com