Funeral mass took place Jan. 22 at St. Lawrence Church for Josette Ann Bordiga, 52. She passed away Jan. 15 at Holy Name Hospital, Teaneck, after a long illness. She was the daughter of the late Arthur A. Bordiga and Rose Brusco Bordiga. Josette was born in Hoboken and was a lifelong resident of Weehawken. She attended New York University where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude in 1980 with a degree in English. She also obtained an MA in English from NYU. Shortly after graduating from NYU, Josette began her teaching career at her alma mater, Holy Rosary Academy in Union City, where she taught high school English until the school closed in 1996. Josette was passionate about English literature, especially Shakespeare and Jane Austen, and was equally passionate about her students, maintaining lifelong friendships with many of them.
She was an inspiring and enthusiastic teacher who was loved by her students. Following the closure of Holy Rosary Academy, Josette taught briefly at Bergen Catholic High School before illness forced her early retirement. In recent years she continued her involvement with the teaching profession by tutoring and by acting as a mentor to those of her former students who became teachers themselves.
Outside of her chosen profession, Josette was an active parishioner at St. Lawrence Church in Weehawken where she served as a Eucharistic minister, a lector and a director of the Women’s Cornerstone Retreat. She was also an active member of the Mid-Atlantic branch of NF Inc. which supports those affected by neurofibromatosis through education, advocacy, coalitions, raising public awareness and supporting research for a treatment and a cure of this little-known disease from which she suffered. Josette was the sister of Andrea Brewer and her husband, David, and the aunt of James, Caroline and Geoffrey Brewer. She also leaves behind her seven cats and many close friends who along with her family will miss her greatly. Services arranged by the Leber Funeral Home, Union City.