Obituary of Mary Cortese
Mary Cortese, age 87, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 29th, 2021, at her home in North Plainfield, surrounded by her loving family. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, on February 12, 1933. Daughter of the late, Christos Maglaras and Zoe (Koutravou) Maglaras. Mary had spent most of her life in North Plainfield where she raised her family.
Mary was a devoted member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Westfield, NJ.
Early in Mary’s life, she spent her time raising her nine children, she loved cooking, and hosting holidays. Her favorite were the Easter celebrations, she always enjoyed preparing the meals for both Easter and Greek Orthodox Easter. She would never complain, even when her nine children and twenty grandchildren would invite their friends over for the many pasta Sundays and meatball dinners she would prepare. Mary always had a love for dancing and music and she never shied away from the dance floor. She had even won several jitter bug and twist competitions with her husband. She also enjoyed taking trips to the beach and long walks on the boardwalk and eating seafood at the shore. Her greatest joy was being a grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother. Mary's smile was like a ray of sunshine. She will be greatly missed by all.
Mary is predeceased by her husband, Joseph M. Cortese, in 1982, her daughter, Mary Flowers, in 2021, a brother, Christos Maglaras, and a son-in-law, Rocco Labbadia.
She is survived by her eight loving children; Christina Stambouli, Peter Stambouli and his wife Sandra, Zoe Cortese, Ronald Cortese, Michael Cortese, Josette Labbadia, Anthony Cortese and his wife Laura, and Sherry Cortese; a sister, Catherine Placiotis, in St.Petersburg, FL, and many niece's and nephew's. She is also survived by 20 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the funeral service will be held privately. The service may be viewed via a Livestream 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2021, at https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/mary-cortese.
