Obituary of Christine M. Salemi

CHRISTINE M. SALEMI - Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Educator and Quilter On February 25, 2014, Christine M. Salemi (nee: Annucci) passed away peacefully after a long battle with breast cancer. She was bathed in the love of her family and friends during her final hours and is now resting in the hands of God. Christine was born in the beautiful mountaintop town of Monteverde, Italy in the southern Apennine Mountains. She was eight years old when her mother Antonietta and brother Leonard along with Christine emigrated from Italy to meet her father, Raffaele who had left Italy several years prior to establish a better life for them in America. The young family settled in the Peterstown section of Elizabeth, New Jersey and within several years the family had grown with two new additions, sisters Marie and Linda. Christine quickly assimilated into the American culture, learning English and excelling in school. She became the family advocate and assisted her mom with the care of her two younger sisters. Graduating with honors from St. Anthony of Padua Elementary School in Elizabeth she attended Battin High School and once again, graduated with honors. It was as a senior in high that she met her future husband, Gerald. They dated for five years while each pursued their college degrees. Two weeks after her graduation from Rutgers in 1971, they were married and she was ready to start on her career with the Elizabeth Board of Education. Along the way, she and her husband were blessed with three beautiful girls, Michele, Melissa and Melanie who were the apples of her eyes. She was a teacher and administrator in the Elizabeth school system for 34 years before retiring in 2005. Not content with retirement, she joined the Pieced Together Quilt Guild in Bridgewater, New Jersey to learn quilting. There she met the most wonderful group of women who were most generous with their time and teaching skills. As always, she quickly learned more than the basics and was on her way. She also joined the Monday Morning Quilters. These were a group of ladies who got together every Monday morning and donated their time, treasure and talents to making quilts that were donated to various organizations, such as: Lyons Veterans Hospital, VFW, Pregnancy Aid Centers and many others. But, the other true loves of her life were her six grandchildren who were born between 2007 and 2012. Her pleasure was having the whole family over on Sundays to partake in a traditional Italian dinner complete with homemade meatballs that each grandchild and of course, each adult enjoyed immensely. Besides her husband Gerald, Christine is survived by her three daughters: Michele and husband Nicholas Amato, Melissa and husband Jarred Weisfeld and Melanie and husband David Kriskewic. Six beautiful grandchildren: Damian, Natalie and Justin Amato, Evan and Nathan Weisfeld and Harper and Baby (TBD?) Kriskewic. She is also survived by her brother Leonard Annucci. Sisters: Marie and husband James Caprio, and Linda and husband Dr. Ralph Russo III as well as six nieces and nephews. Services will be held at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung, NJ. Viewing will be from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. on Sunday March 2, 2014. A Funeral Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Mount Roman Catholic Church, 167 Mt. Bethel Road, Warren, NJ on Tuesday March 4, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. followed by internment at the Mausoleum of the Crucifixion at Saint Gertrude's Cemetery in Colonia, NJ. The family requests that any donations be made in memory of Christine Salemi to the: Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills 200 Mount Airy Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920