Centenarian Mary Orifice-DeRocco of Secaucus has entered into her second century with happiness, with all her extended family swarming around her!
Born in Jersey City on Dec. 7, 1909, now a little over 100-years ago, Mrs. Orifice-DeRocco has basically been a homemaker all her life, and finally settled in Secaucus thirty-eight years ago! She has three daughters, Bernadette and Nina who also live in Secaucus, and Mary Ann who lives in Woodbridge, New Jersey. She also has a son Peter who lives in Bayonne. Her daughter Mrs. Bernadette Voorhees is the wife of Charles Voorhees, who is of Dutch heritage. Her other daughter Mary Ann is the wife of John Varg, and her son Peter is married to his wife Patricia. Bernadette, whose nick-name is “Rox,” is basically the spokeswoman for the family!
Mrs. Orifice-DeRocco has been a long-time parishioner of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Secaucus, and before that she was a parishioner at All Saints Roman Catholic Church in the Bergen-Lafayette Section of Jersey City, where she grew-up as a young girl. Furthermore, in the 1950s, she was a part-time employee of both AT&T and the New York Telephone Company. As a wonderful Sicilian/Italian-American mother, she loved to cook, and Italian dishes were her favorite, of course! As an active churchgoer in Secaucus, she volunteered to become “A Sunshine Girl” for the 60-Plus Club in the town, and was also a member of the Secaucus Seniors Club.
The 100th Birthday Celebration was held at the Outback Steakhouse in Secaucus this past December, 2009, and it must have been very crowded, because the names of her grandchildren are Jon, Maribeth, Charles, James, Sharon, Jamie, Craig, Todd, and Melissa. As for the names of her great grandchildren, they are Brigot, Nina, John, Michael, David, Charles James (C.J.), Emily, Michael, Eric, Tyler, Isabella, Olivera, and Dominick. To add festivity to the party, old neighbor and present Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli stopped by to wish Mrs. Mary C. DeRocco, a very Happy Birthday and another healthy 100-years. In December, Mr. Gonnelli was still the Mayor-Elect, but that did not stop him from seeing and wishing his old neighbor the best of wishes! Thus, there you have it, another record of history in the making in North Hudson County, and to Mrs. Mary Orifice-DeRocco, who is “Forever Young”—All the best! …
The Reverend Juan Luis Calderon, O.A.R., has been appointed part-time Parochial Vicar of Saint Rocco/Saint Brigid Parish in Union City and North Bergen, and part-time Parochial Vicar of Saint Joseph of the Palisades Parish in West New York with residence there, too. Reverend Calderon has also been appointed Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, Saint Rose of Lima Council No. 6209 in Union City, announced Roman Catholic Archbishop John J. Myers, of the Newark, New Jersey Archdiocese. Congratulations Reverend Calderon! …
Seyla Majia of North Bergen has been named the recipient of the 2009 Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey Scholarship, with $2,000 in funds toward her college tuition. Best wishes! …
Chinkal Parmar of Union City has recently achieved a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Haven, Connecticut. Many happy educational returns of your day! …
West New York Mayoral Aide Neil Carroll we hear was an attendee to the recent Annual Former Hudson County Freeholder Dinner. We also hear that former Freeholders Francis “Frank” Pizzuta of Weehawken was there, as well as Peter Mocco of North Bergen, where he was also a former mayor. It is good to see and hear about old friends still being active and in good health. Always a pleasure! …
Former Guttenberg Mayor Nicholas Cicco, who is the executive director of the North Hudson Regional Council of Mayors, whose offices are in Union City, tells us that ever since the council hired new vendors for their programs, the agency has been moving along more smoothly, and he is very happy about the positive changes of the past. Good going, former Guttenberg Mayor Cicco. Always a pleasure to speak to you, and keep-up the great work! …
Readers, this Columnist has been totally amused when I call active civic-political persons for news for this column, that is not political in nature, and I am mistaken for our Political Columnist Al Sullivan, because people never met him in person, etc. Well, I have to say once again that our Al Sullivan is a friend of mine; is a good person, a fine family man, with a healthy good humor. To know him is to like him! Yes, he has a job to do and does it well, and has been around a long time. To be asked about him, means that he does his job, and is a real Fighting Irishman, someone that I am happy to have as a colleague. I really mean that! …
And so it goes … until next time … see you around town … “MATT” …
Readers who would like to contribute to this column can do so by mailing your news items and photographs, along with your name, address, and telephone number, to: “Matthew Amato,” columnist, c/o The Hudson Reporter, 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ, 07030. Thank you.