Mary Mannello

Mary Mannello, 99, of Pompton Plains, NJ, passed peacefully on Saturday, November 1, 2025, surrounded by the love of her family.

Born in 1926 in San Andrea, a small mountain town in southern Italy's Calabrian region, Mary was the daughter of hardworking parents who brought her and her siblings to America at the age of eight. Growing up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn during the Depression, she embraced responsibility early, becoming a seamstress and working alongside her parents so that her family could build a life in their new country.

In the late 1940s, at a homecoming party for local WWII veterans, Mary met the love of her life, Mario Mannello. Mario spotted her from across the room, asked her to dance, and there began a lifelong love story. They were married in April 1947 and spent the next 63 years side by side. The two loved to travel, dance at every wedding, and even maintained a tradition with four other couples they befriended on their 1947 honeymoon in Savannah, meeting annually for 50 years to celebrate the friendship that blossomed there.

Together, Mary and Mario welcomed three children (Anthony, Marion, and Joseph) and built their life in Little Falls, Long Island, Wayne, and Florida. In her later years, Mary and Mario settled into Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains, where Mary lived fully, true to her mantra: "Keep on moving." An avid New York Met's fan, Mary golfed into her mid-90s, played mahjong with friends since her forties, and kept her social calendar nearly as full as her heart.

Mary's kitchen was the heart of her home. Her children will never forget the smell of Sunday "gravy" simmering on the stove, or the countless meals lovingly prepared with her unbeatable meatballs. She was a devoted mother who never missed a beat, serving breakfast before school, hosting after-church family dinners, and cheering her children on through every milestone and challenge.

A lifelong Catholic, her faith was a quiet, but powerful force in her life. Mary had a deep devotion to the Virgin Mother and prayed to her daily. Friends and family often sought her out in times of need, knowing her prayers seemed to be heard just a little closer to heaven. Mary's life was a testament to love, generosity, and family. She is reunited now with her beloved Mario, who passed in 2010.

In addition, she was predeceased by her beloved parents, Joseph & Palma Stillo; her parents-in-law, Anthony & Mariana Mannello; and her siblings, Bruno Stillo, Frances Coccari, Josephine Jackson, and Andrew Stillo.

She is lovingly survived by her children, Anthony Mannello and his wife Andrea, Marion Sacharoff and her husband Robert, and Joseph Mannello and his wife Kristin; her sisters-in-law, Lorraine Basilicato and Janet Stillo; her grandchildren, Anthony and his wife Karen, Jason and his partner Dipa, Gregory and his husband Jamie, Ethan, and Lucas; and her great-grandchildren, Ellie, Cole, Emerson and Emma.

Visitation will be held Thursday, November 6th from 4-8 pm at Scanlan's. A funeral Mass will be held 9:30 am Friday, November 7th at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, 155 West Parkway, Pompton Plains. Interment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary's memory to St. Jude's Children's Hospital or to the Community Food Bank of NJ would be greatly appreciated by her family.