Obituary of Victoria E. Green
Victoria Ellen Green, 98, passed away on Saturday, November 4th, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with family at her side, after a long and busy life. She leaves behind her husband George, her sister and best friend Sadie DiLiddo, a sister-in-law Martha Cozzoli, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Clive and Ada McDonald, each of their children and grandchildren, and cousins to the first, second and third degree, and many friends, all of whom loved and admired her. Her father Frank Cozzoli, her mother Mary L. Cozzoli, a sister Gilda C. Jannuzzi and brother Joseph Cozzoli, two nephews, a niece, a grand-nephew and a grand-niece preceded her in death.
Mrs. Green was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, the third of four children. She grew up in the same town—indeed, lived most of her life there until recent years—graduating from Plainfield schools and Rutgers University where her degree in Business and Accounting prepared her for her long years’ work as Controller and Corporate Secretary of Cozzoli Machine Company, begun by her father the year she was born and still family owned. There she met her husband George, whom she married in 1957, a close and affectionate marriage for 60 years. They resided for many years in Watchung. Mrs. Green retired from the company in 1982 and she and George began the travel adventures that took them around the world and brought them friends from everywhere. They moved to Canal Walk in Somerset, where they participated in the Young at Heart Club and other activities. Her favorite place to relax, however, was the family home in Lavallette, where she enjoyed the ocean and beach and from the porch she could wave to friends and neighbors passing along the boardwalk.
For many years, Mrs. Green was active in the Pilot Club of the Plainfields (Pilot Club International), and especially enjoyed activities with family and friends. There was never a family event that she and George did not attend faithfully; each family gathering, especially at holidays, was celebrated with her enthusiasm and her family’s appreciation for it. She gathered in and held equally affectionate the Green and McDonald families in Scotland and locally. The Cousins Club provided ample opportunities for gatherings and travels; her bowling club lots of fun. While her eyesight remained, she knitted and crocheted expertly, an inheritance from the talented needleworkers in her and her mother’s generation.
The Greens were longtime faithful members of Grace Episcopal Church in Plainfield, where Mrs. Green had grown up, been confirmed and was married; later, after a move to Somerset, they attended St. Paul’s Church in Bound Brook. As always, they reaped many close friendships from those congregations.
Mrs.Green will be remembered for her forthright, kind, generous spirit, and for her great affection for us all, which we return with long and fond memories of her.
A memorial service for Victoria E. Green will be held at 11 am Friday, November 10th at Higgins Funeral Home, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung, NJ (visitation at 10 am); interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Plainfield. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to give a donation to a charity of your choice.
