Obituary of Igea Conley

Igea Comune Conley (nee DeMatteo), 86, of Califon, NJ, passed away on Sept. 9, 2016 surrounded by her family. “Gea" was born in Plainfield, NJ to Palma and Dominick DeMatteo on November 1, 1929. She started her career as a buyer in the fashion industry and then went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Education at Rutgers University. She was a dedicated teacher at St. Francis Cabrini in Piscataway and in the Warren Middle School for over 10 years and also served as President of the Teacher’s Association during her tenure. After retiring from teaching she went on to work as a manager at Thielex Plastics Corporation, a family business started by her brothers and her former husband, Thomas Comune. In later years, she purchased the local florist in Warren, NJ with her daughter, Julie and founded Warren Country Florist. Gea was an avid golfer, a master gardener, talented seamstress and floral designer. She was also an amazing chef and author of a family recipe Italian cookbook, a long-time Yankees fan and loved the opera and her NY Times crossword puzzle. Gea lived her life giving to others, mailing out 100’s of charitable donations a year, her favorite saying was “money is only paper." Gea is survived by her loving husband, Vincent Conley; her daughters -Carol, Sandy, Kathy, Tomi and Julie; her stepchildren - Gary, Lisa and Sherry; 15 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; and brother, Pio DeMatteo. She is predeceased by her first husband Thomas J. Comune; 5 brothers; and her stepson, Vincent Conley, Jr. A visitation will be he held on Monday, September 12, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd, Watchung, NJ 07069. Funeral services will be on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. at the funeral home followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at St Bernard of Clairvaux in Plainfield. Interment will be at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains.