Obituary of Mary D. Nicolazzo

Norman Dean Home for Services 16 Righter Avenue Denville, New Jersey 07834 (973) 627-1880 Daily Record 1x Sunday 8-22-2010 Neighbor News Mary Dora Nicolazzo, 85, passed away on Wednesday August 18, 2010 at the Compassionate Care Hospice at Saint Clare’s Hospital at Dover, NJ. Mary was born on Dec.15, 1924 in Erie, PA. She grew up with a mother who was a fine opera singer and a father who worked hard to take care of the family during the difficult great depression years. Mary had a love of opera and was blessed with an amazingly beautiful voice. In her early twenties, she pursued voice lessons in Buffalo, NY driving every week to expand her talent and become an opera singer. Her teacher was a master musician the former leading tenor of the Opera Comique in Paris who was bought to the USA by Oscar Hammerstein in 1910 to be lead tenor for his musicals. Mary married an artist, Edward Nicolazzo in 1958 and the new family moved to New York City to pursue their artistic endeavors. Mary continued work on her vocal career and also worked for Carl Zeiss. She also encouraged her husband in his pursuits as an artist attending The Arts students’ league. In 1962 she had a daughter Rachel and shortly thereafter the family moved to Denville where Mary became a significant figure in the Arts Community. During the 1970’s Mary was mostly a devoted mother and wife working at Greystone Hospital. She never gave up on her musical dreams by leading opera study groups in her home and arranging trips to the Metropolitan Opera for friends. She had also taught her daughter to sing at age two and now guided her musical career from New England Conservatory of Music to International Music Festivals. Finally, in 1985 Mary formed her vocal instruction studio called the “Nicolazzo Singers”. These voice students were from the Morris county area and varied in ages from 15-50. There were doctors, high school student all together learning about opera and voice concepts! Mary bought culture to Denville by giving two free concerts a year with the help of community organizations such as the Denville Historical Society from 1987-2000. She has encouraged many youths and adults alike to pursue their dreams with unbridled freedom with her world class teaching techniques and kind heart! Mary is survived by her husband Edward, her daughter Rachel Z, her sister Carmel, her nieces Dana, Wendy, Pamela, Paula, and Barbara Jean, her nephews, Chris, Marco, Paul, John , and Richie. Relatives and Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Mass of Christian Burial service at St. Mary’s Church, Denville, NJ on Tuesday August 24th at 10am. Funeral arrangements under the direction of Norman Dean Home for Services, Denville, NJ www.normandean.com, (please light a candle in memory of Mary on web site).