Dorothea Palestina
Beloved Mother, Sister, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother, 94
Mrs. Dorothea (nee Ruggiero) Palestina, 94, of Nutley, NJ, formerly of Newark, NJ, passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Due to the current health crisis, private funeral services will be held with an entombment at Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington. A memorial service will be celebrated at a later date.
Mrs. Palestina was born in Newark, NJ where she resided until moving to Nutley 23 years ago. She was an Essex Catholic High School cafeteria worker from 1966- 1977, and later was employed by United Hospitals, Newark as a medical billing clerk from 1977 until her retirement in 1994. Mrs. Palestina served as an Air Raid Warden in Newark's First Ward from 1942 - 1945 during World War II.
She is survived by her loving beloved children Jean Palestina, Joseph Palestina and his wife Mary Ann, Thomas Palestina and his wife Mona, Susan Munley and her husband Ted, and Robert Palestina and his wife Lisa; her loving siblings Joseph Ruggiero and Helen Ruggiero-Luongo; her loving sister-in-law Gloria Ruggiero; her cherished grandchildren Joseph Palestina, Jonathan Palestina, Kristin Gomez and her husband Alex, Marc Palestina and his wife Christina, Danielle Palestina, Alysse Palestina, and Thomas Palestina; and her precious great-grandson Leandro Gomez. She is also survived by her many loving nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Palestina is predeceased by her parents Gianbattista and Helen (nee Sabol) Ruggiero, her sisters Anna Milano, Elizabeth Lucarella, and Gloria Palestina, and her brothers John Mayer, Thomas Ruggiero, Raymond Ruggiero, Ernest Ruggiero (1) and Ernest Ruggiero (2).
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memorials Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959, www.stjude.org.
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