Obituary of Mariela Berrio

Mariela Berrio, age 91, passed away on May 25, 2023, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Born in Honda, Colombia, to the late Apolinar Berrio and Blanca Ramirez, Mariela had resided in Bogota, Colombia, and in North Plainfield, NJ, before moving to the Ridge Oak Retirement Community in Basking Ridge in 1997.

Prior to her retirement in 1997, Mariela worked in the quality control departments at C.R. Bard in Berkeley Heights and Johnson and Johnson in Bridgewater for many years.

Mariela was a member of St. James RC Church in Basking Ridge. She volunteered for many years at Ridge Oak by driving residents to medical appointments and to run errands. She loved to travel and had visited many different countries such as Israel, some countries in Europe and South America, and some states in the U.S. She also loved spending time with her many loving friends and family.  

Mariela is survived by her son, Carlos Penuela and his wife Anna Kovalenko Penuela of Texas; daughter, Martha P. Traynor and her husband J. Michael Traynor of Whitehouse Station, NJ; two grandchildren Nicol Starkes and her husband Kevin Starkes of Montclair, NJ; and Christopher Traynor and his wife Kalley Traynor of North Carolina.

A funeral mass will be held at 11 am on Friday, June 2, 2023, at St. Mary’s Stony Hill RC Church in Watchung NJ, followed by entombment.