Shirley Ruth Velardo

Velardo, Shirley Ruth, age 91, of Oakland on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
Born in Paterson, Shirley had lived in Pompton Lakes and Bloomingdale before moving to Toms River in 2000. She returned to Pompton Lakes in 2019 and then Oakland shortly thereafter. Shirley worked as an operator for Bell Telephone and then as an office clerk for American Cyanamid in Wayne, primarily in their International Agriculture Shipping Department.
Shirley was the beloved wife of the late Nicholas Velardo, Jr. (2018). Loving mother of MaryAnne Smith (and her late husband Charles), the late Nicholas Velardo, III, and the late Karen Velardo. Dear grandmother of Cara Smith, Erin Smith and Lauren Crisci and her husband Carmine. Dearest great grandmother of Luca Crisci and Mia Crisci. Cherished sister of the late Fran Susko and the late Jim McCorry. Shirley is also survived by her loving nieces, Debra Healy, Cheryl Fowler, Patty Regis, and her many dear friends at the Oakland Rehab Center.
A funeral service will take place at 10:30am on Monday, October 27, 2025 at the Browning-Forshay Funeral Home, 557 Lafayette Ave. Hawthorne, NJ 07506. Interment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa. Friends may visit with the family at the funeral home on Sunday from 2-5pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Special Olympics New Jersey at 1 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Way, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or St. Jude’s Children's Research Center at 501 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105.