Cleanor A. Skolnick

Cleanor A. Skolnick, 94, of Iselin, died on Saturday, September 20, 2025, peacefully at home, with her family by her side.

A long time resident of Iselin, Cleanor was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the 6th of the 7 children of Alfred C. Thiel and Ann E. Kratz-Thiel. She was a devout Roman Catholic and a communicant of St. Cecelia Roman Catholic Church in Iselin, New Jersey.

Cleanor met the love of her life, Edward Skonick, at a high school dance at St. Boniface Church in Wilkes-Barre, and later married there in 1955. They joyfully celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2005.

Blessed with 5 children, Cleanor was a devoted mom, running a very busy household. She was known to throw awesome birthday parties, and her house, a gathering place for the neighborhood kids who could always expect sweet treats and lively celebrations. She had a great spirit, loved to talk with people anywhere and everywhere, and appreciated the beauty around her. No holiday was complete without a full array of home decorations, especially at Christmas where she was the embodiment of Mrs. Claus, delighting in the excitement of her kids and grandkids glee at opening their generous pile of presents. She was a woman of great energy and loved to be on the go, whether it be stopping in to visit friends and family, enjoying Atlantic City, annual family beach trips to Brigantine, bargain hunting, or traveling the world with her beloved, Ed.

Cleanor will be forever remembered for that generous spirit, her positive energy, her kindness to everyone, her devotion to her family and friends, her joy at being a grandmother to 9 and a great grandmother of 11, her faith- and her Padre Pio medals which she gave to everyone, her love of music and dancing and celebration, and the way her eyes lit up with love and compassion when there was something to celebrate, honor or remember.

She was predeceased by her husband, Edward F. Skolnick, who died in 2005, her daughter, Arlene T. Policastro, who died in 2022, her brothers, Alfred, Louis and Peter Theil, and sisters, Martina Augustine, Catherine Kwareinski and Elizabeth Gallager.

Surviving are her children, Edward F. Skolnick and his wife Lesley, Deborah Eckel and her husband Raymond, Marie Fischer and her husband Daniel, James Skolnick and his wife Kelly, son-in-law Greg Policastro, and her 9 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held on Friday, September 26, 2025 from 4-8 PM at the Costello-Runyon Funeral Home, 1225 Green Street in Iselin, NJ. Services will be held Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM at the Funeral Home followed by a 10 AM Mass of Christian Burial at St. Cecelia RC Church in Iselin. Interment will follow at St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia.