RITA VALERIE, 94, of Jackson Twp., NJ, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Friday, August 19, 2016, at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Lakewood, NJ.
Born “Sarah Agnes” (later changed to Rita) to Patrick and Mary Collins (formerly of Cork, Ireland) on June 21, 1922, in New York City. Rita was the youngest of three sisters (“Kitty” and Marion). She attended Catholic School and worked in a candy factory during the Depression and as an aid in the hospital when she was married. She met her future husband, Michael J. Valerie, at an ice cream parlor when she was 14 years old. After her husband served in WWII, they married and raised their three children in Bronx, NY, before moving to Queens, NY.
She spent her remaining thirty years as a resident of Jackson, NJ. She was an active member of the community as she served as President of Southwind Association and volunteered for many years at voting poll stations. She enjoyed her retirement with her husband with trips to Atlantic City and traveling across country. Rita was always happiest when she was with her family. She was a loving mother to her surviving son, Gregory; a loving grandmother to her five grandchildren and their wives, Anthony Valerie (wife, Amelia), Lori Cesaro, Karen Valerie, Anthony Panariello (wife, Kelley) and Michael Panariello (wife, Holly). She was a doting great grandmother to Logan, Raymond, Lilyana and Charlotte. She is predeceased by her parents (Patrick and Mary), her beloved husband of 56 years, Michael J. Valerie, her son Michael P. Valerie, and her daughter Laura Valerie.
The family will be celebrating her life on Thursday, August 25, 2016, from 8 AM – 9 AM at the GEORGE S. HASSLER FUNERAL HOME, 980 Bennetts Mills Rd., Jackson, NJ 08527. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, August 25, 2016, at 9:30 AM at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, 935 Bennetts Mills Rd., Jackson, NJ. Interment will follow11 AM in Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Provinceline Rd., Arneytown, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Rita’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, National Processing Center, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675, woundedwarriorproject.org. For directions, further information, or to send condolence messages to the family, please select a tab on the left.