Mary F Nese

It is with heavy hearts and profound sadness that we bid farewell to our beloved Mary Nese of
Paramus, New Jersey, who passed away on March 2, 2025 at the age of 86.
Mary was born on March 3, 1938 in Jersey City, New Jersey to Thomas and Helen Fergus (nee
Granahan), hardworking immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland. From that day forward, she
graced the world with her loving and magnificent presence. Mary was a disciplined student
and won a scholarship to attend The Academy of St. Aloysius run by the Sisters of Charity of
St. Elizabeth and then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from
St. Peter's University. She spent her nearly 50 year career working at Shell Oil Company,
InterContinental Hotels, Nabisco and The Wall Street Journal, however, her proudest and most
meaningful accomplishment was being a devoted and loving mother to her two daughters.
Mary had a deep appreciation and love of the Arts and exposed her daughters from a young
age to these wonderful parts of life. She took her girls to New York City to see The Nutcracker
ballet each year, and to see Broadway plays, visit art museums and the symphony. Mary loved
everything French - she was a lifelong student of the French language and culture and enjoyed
many trips to France and Italy with her husband, Paul. She loved to sing French songs to her
beloved grandson Justin when he was a little boy, which he still remembers to this day.
Mary was a woman of deep Catholic faith. She was a Eucharistic Minister and Altar Server at
Our Lady of the Visitation parish and volunteered with Family Promise where she both cooked
and served meals to the less fortunate in Bergen County, New Jersey.
How very blessed all of us are for the many wonderful and cherished ways she touched our
hearts and lives. Mary is pre-deceased by her husband, Paul Nese, and is survived by her
daughters, Mary Shuzdak (her husband Len) and Daria Alter (her husband Brian) and her most
cherished grandson, Justin Morgan Alter.
Visitation will be held at Volk-Leber Funeral Home, 268 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell, New
Jersey on Thursday, March 6th from 4:00 to 6:00pm. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday, March 7th at 10:00am at Our Lady of the Visitation, 234 North Farview Avenue, Paramus, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, friends and family who wish to honor Mary with a donation can direct their gifts to the St. Francis Bread Line at https://stfrancisbreadline.org.