Denise Simonetti

Denise Simonetti (nee Collelo) passed away peacefully on December 26, 2024 of complications from advanced dementia. Her passing was peaceful during the night, in her sleep
Denise was born in Jersey City, NJ to Lillian (nee Crepeau) and Anthony Collelo. She attended Memorial High School in West New York where she was raised along with her sister Donna (Pfarr) and brother Tom. She worked for Verizon (first NJ Bell before leaving to raise a family), and in between worked for Balanced Foods where she mentored the actor Paul Reiser whose family owned the company. She was shop steward at Verizon while surviving multiple mergers and retired in 2002.
She married Joseph Simonetti in 1960, moved to Teaneck to raise her family, and afterwards lived in Montvale before spending her final few years at Christian Health in Wyckoff.
A voracious reader, sometimes reading 3-4 books a week, Denise regularly enjoyed watching Jeopardy while she was encouraged to audition when Art Fleming was host. Denise put everyone else ahead of herself from taking care of her elderly relatives, to driving an older neighbor home from work weekly so the woman didn't have to walk after standing on her feet all day. She put her children first, of course, but made large sacrifices along the way to ensure we were educated and on our way successfully into adulthood. Denise is survived by her daughters Michelle Meisenbach (Erich) and Cherylene McKinney (Ryan), and her grandsons Eric (Jillian), Brandon, and Reid and great-grandson Liam Meisenbach. She was predeceased in 2003 by her ex-husband Joe.
Visitation will be held at the Joseph W. Sorce Funeral Home in Pearl River, NY from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday, December 29. A funeral mass will then be held at Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ at 11:15 am on Monday December 30.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St Jude's or the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Denise, please visit our Tree Store.