Carol Marie Mealy

Carol Marie Mealy, age 69, of Rockaway Borough, New Jersey, died on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at her home with her loving husband by her side.
Born in Newark, New Jersey to the late John and Wanda Jarosinski, she was raised in Maplewood, NJ. After graduating high school, she worked for a few typesetting businesses before branching off to start a typesetting business of her own: CJM Type & Design. Married in 1978 to her husband Vincent (Bill) Mealy, the couple moved to Denville and then Rockaway, where Carol started to build her business and then a family. Bill and her two children, Kate and Jake, could be found picking tiny letters out of the carpet and carrying jugs of developing chemicals out to "the back" - the garage on their property where her business was housed. She worked her butt off and ran a very successful business for many years. It was often hard to get her to even come in for dinner! Once typesetting became obsolete with the dawn of the word processor, Carol made a major pivot and put herself through college - at the same time that she was putting her kids through college! She graduated summa cum laude from Fairleigh Dickinson and went on to a second corporate career, ending as a developer of e-learning and digital assets for PwC.
More importantly than work (to us... possibly not to her - ha!), Carol loved to spend time with her family. Whether it was around their kitchen table in Rockaway or on the deck at their beach house in Seaside Park, she could be found cooking up a storm and then cleaning up an even bigger storm. Everyone was welcome at the table, and if you were there you could be sure to be fed a delicious gourmet meal whipped up by her and Bill. Many of you have probably tried foods for the first time at their table. "Try it! You've never even had it! You'll love it!"
She loved the beach - sitting on it and swimming in the ocean for hours. She loved exercising, shopping, dancing, and always looking nice and put together. It was rare to catch her looking sloppy. She was a devoted Catholic and an active parishioner at Saint Stanislaus in Newark. Anyone who has ever met her will tell you that she had a larger than life personality, a great sense of humor, and was tons of fun. She always spoke her mind, whether or not you wanted to hear it. She had an almost otherworldly work ethic, and the personal strength to match. Her bravery in the face of all that she endured over the last two years has been nothing short of astonishing.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Wanda Kozak and John Jarosinski and one sister, Janice Jarosinski.
She is survived by her devoted husband of 46 years Vincent Mealy; two cherished children, Kate Fresso and Jake Mealy; two grandchildren, Archie and June Fresso; and two brothers, Michael and Joseph Jarosinski. We will miss her terribly and we promise to always keep the baseboards and window blinds clean in her honor.
Visitation will be Monday, September 23, 2024 from 4:00-7:00 PM at Whitham-Kanapaux Funeral Home, 20 Keller Ave., Rockaway, NJ 07866. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held September 24, 2024 at St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Roman Catholic Church in Newark, NJ at 11:00 AM. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.