Amelia M. Sollitto

Amelia M. Sollitto passed away peacefully in her home in Scotch Plains, New Jersey at the age of 102. Born in Jersey City, she grew up in Hackensack and graduated from Hackensack High School. She majored in French with a Spanish minor at Douglass College and went on to earn two master's degrees: one in French from Middlebury College and the second in Spanish from Universidad de la Habana, Cuba. Those in combination with her upbringing and life in Greece during the civil war there resulted in her fluency in Spanish, French, Italian, and Greek.
Amelia enjoyed an over 50-year career in secondary education while raising her four children, all of whom earned doctorates. She was a pioneer in language arts teaching and was among the first in the nation to introduce Spanish teaching at the elementary school level. Her final teaching position was at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, from which she retired at age 72. Amelia will be remembered by her many students for her encouragement of lifelong learning, not only of languages but also their cultures.
Amelia was predeceased by her husband, LT. Col. Basil J. Sollitto and her son Dr. Richard A. Sollitto. Surviving are her daughter, Dr. Andera Lynn Sollitto-Hawtin, her sons Dr. Ronald J. Sollitto and Robert B. Sollitto, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Her funeral mass will be celebrated by immediate family at Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church in Scotch Plains on May 11th at 9:30am and will be live streamed through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2aC_LvOeqA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Disabled American Vets (DAV)