Dorothy Panetta

Dorothy Marie (Combs) Panetta, 94 of Saddle Brook slipped from this world with grace and peace at home and wrapped in the embrace of her family. Born on July 16, 1931 in Jenkinjones West Virginia, she was the youngest daughter and the 16th child of the late Lura Ellen Dema Byrd and Arthur Columbus Combs.

She was adventurous from the start, meeting the love of her life, Frank Panetta Jr. during a trip to NJ to visit her sister. They married, built a beautiful life together and shared 49 years before his passing in 2000.

Dorothy was a homemaker, master of the kitchen and, for many years, a working mother part of a pioneering company, Datascope, where she assembled cutting-edge patient monitors and intra-aortic balloon pumps. She traveled, played cards (occasionally with a wink and a secret signal to her playing partner), devoured romance novels, conquered puzzles and Sudoku, scrolled her iPad like a teenager, and fed anyone lucky enough to be within reach of her table.

She taught us that cooking is non-negotiable, but ingredients are subject to mood. Her recipes were living things, changing each time she wrote them, each "pinch" of salt measured in palmfuls. Even though we know them by heart, we'll still open our handmade-by-Grandma cookbooks just to see her handwriting.

She is survived by her daughters Patricia Chamberlain and Frances Brannan, her son Frank Panetta III, her son-in-law Richard Chamberlain and daughter-in-law Sandra Panetta. She presided over the beautiful chaos of her family with boundless love and quiet wisdom.

Grandma's legacy thrives and lives on through her eight grandchildren - Melissa, Kelly, Jason, Richard, Ashley, Samantha, Jillian, and Christopher - whom she has, without apology, beaten in beer pong. We all claim to have been her favorite, a claim she has never fully confirmed nor denied, delighting instead in fanning the flames of our banter. Their spouses: Rian, Thomas, Taylor, Karen, Steven, Travis and Kristi, were loved as her own. She also proudly welcomed seven extended-grandchildren with open arms: Robert, Kristian, Monique, Marquise, Joshua, Jason, and Kamar.

Affectionately called GG, her joy, bright eyes, smile and fierce independence shines on through 16 great-grandchildren: Ailis, Keahi, Liam, Joseph, Riley, Landon, Nora, R.J., Madison, Steven, Kennedy, Tatum, Charlize, Wade, Kinsley, Clea, Kyaire and April. To them, "going to GG's" was never a novelty, it was necessary. Billed as the "most resilient woman ever" by the eldest, she taught them all to love without reserve, to laugh often, to cook fearlessly, and to dream big.

As we watch our children smile and wave, we see pieces of Mom and Grandma still here. We will miss her deeply, but we will never walk without her.

She is a legend. By turns both stubborn and easy-going, generous, kind, joyful, stoic, mischievous and brave. Everyone loves GG. May she find in Heaven endless blessings, warm sunshine and a bottomless supply of Coors Light.

Family will receive friends on Friday August 15, 2025 from 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 113 South Farview Avenue, Paramus, NJ. Funeral Service at 11am from the Funeral Home then to St. Philip the Apostle R.C. Church, Saddle Brook, for an 11:30am Mass of Christian Burial. Interment to follow George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ.

In her honor, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a cause she faithfully supported for over 50 years.