Maureen Rose Mancino

Maureen Rose Mancino, beloved wife of 56 years to Livio and cherished mother to six, went to our Lord Jesus Christ on Friday, December 30, after a long illness. Mrs. Mancino will be remembered for her sweet disposition, passion for children, family and friends, and an uncommon charm and humility that affected all who knew her.

Mrs. Mancino was born on February 24, 1935, in Elizabeth, where she resided for more than 20 years with her dear parents, William and Ann Darrar, and her two brothers, William (Billy) and Robert (Bob). She attended Sacred Heart High School in Elizabeth befriending a group of girls that would become lifelong friends, known to each other as “the Mockettes.”

After high school, Mrs. Mancino went on to work as a secretary at Firo Insurance Rating Agency in Newark for six years.

In 1956, she met her husband at a wedding. Both she and Mr. Mancino were members of the wedding party and took an instant liking to one another.  However, shortly after the wedding, the pair lost touch as  Mrs. Mancino busied herself with work, friends and a much-anticipated trip to Miami with “The Mockettes” for a week of sightseeing and sunbathing. The trip was one of the highlights of her younger years and was the beginning of a lifetime of travel adventures she would later share with her husband.

Mrs. Mancino and her husband began dating in 1958 after the two saw each other at a nightclub. The couple married on October 1, 1960. They honeymooned  in France and Italy.

In 1961, they moved to Kenilworth, where they raised their six children. Mr. Mancino opened a business in the community, A/L Mancino Travel and Insurance Agency, while Maureen juggled a gaggle of toddlers at home during the day and then typed for her husband at night to aid him in the early days of his business.

As her husband’s business grew, Mrs. Mancino opened her own dress shop, Travel and Trousseau, in a larger building the couple purchased on the Boulevard in Kenilworth. The shop sold women’s travel apparel and luggage.

After only a few years, Mrs. Mancino opted to close the business, to focus on her true passion – her children. She was at her best with a child to tend to, and had a special knack for understanding and calming tears or tantrums, teen angst and outbursts. Any child who met her fell under her spell and she befriended and mothered not just her own children, but her children’s friends, many of whom grew very fond of her over the years. None, however, were fonder of her than her 15 grandchildren, who treasured their time with her and the treats she would share with them. She could be witty and animated with them and thrilled at their stories and antics.

Through her long marriage, she was always a steady source of encouragement to her husband and extremely helpful to him as he became increasingly active in local politics in Kenilworth in the early 70s. Mr. Mancino served as Kenilworth’s mayor from 1976 to 1988. He was also on the Board of Education from 2003 to 2012. Mrs. Mancino was her husband’s most avid supporter and her counsel through the years was invaluable to her husband.

The couple enjoyed a special friendship and mutual adoration, and their devotion to one another was never more apparent than when they would plan a vacation together. Traveling was one of their great joys together. The pair made annual trips to Puerto Rico with their family when their children were young.

Several times a year, they went to Las Vegas together – one of their favorite destinations. More recently the pair indulged a love of cruising, embarking on more than 80 cruises in the past two decades, exploring the Caribbean, West Coast, Panama Canal, Mexico and Europe. Their trips to Europe most often took them to Italy, where Mr. Mancino was born.

Mrs. Mancino was a parishioner at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Kenilworth. Among her many involvements over the years she had participated in the Rosary Society, Catholic Daughters, and girl scouting as a troop leader. She was also an avid bowler during her younger years.

She is pre-deceased by her beloved parents, and her brother William Darrar. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her children Ann DiGiore of Toms River, Susan Dougherty and her husband Kieran, and Selina Scalise and her husband Greg, of Kenilworth, Colleen Lang and her husband John of Montgomery, Cathleen Hrynkiewicz and her husband Darek, of Somerset, Michael Mancino and his wife, Christina of Warren, and she is survived by her brother Robert Darrar of Florida. She is survived by 15 cherished grandchildren: Brianne, Tara and Amber DiGiore, Ciaran and Brogan Dougherty; John and Cassidy Lang; Vitas and Koby Hrynkiewicz; Alexandra, Michael and Nicholas Mancino and Christopher, Matthew and Gregory Scalise.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 3, at Higgins and Bonner Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A funeral  mass will be on Wednesday, January 4, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Theresa’s  Roman Catholic Church, 541 Washington Avenue, Kenilworth.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 or the Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside, 150 New Providence Road, Mountainside, N.J. 07092.

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