Obituary of Elinor Longobardi

Elinor Rose Longobardi Elinor Rose Longobardi, beloved wife, mother of three, and grandmother of six, a registered nurse and a teacher, died peacefully in her home on Saturday, February 11, 2017, at the age of 91. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, to Frederick and Lucy Dalesio, Elinor attended the Cochran School of Nursing at St. John’s Riverside Hospital, and went on to earn bachelors and masters degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University. She served as a surgical nurse and member of the teaching staff at Mount Vernon Hospital, a nurse-teacher at the Longfellow and Columbus Schools in Mount Vernon, and a nurse-teacher in the Yonkers public schools. Elinor met her husband, Joseph Longobardi, when both were members of Our Lady of Peace Library. On their first date they attended a reading by the poet Robert Frost. They married in 1960 and soon after settled in the Crestwood neighborhood of Yonkers, New York, where they raised three children. An avid reader, Elinor instilled in her children a love of books and learning. She was an active parishioner at Annunciation Church in Crestwood and dedicated to her faith. Following their retirement, Elinor and Joseph settled in New Jersey, first in Morris Plains and later in Denville, at Franciscan Oaks. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, February 16, at 11 a.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes, where Elinor was a parishioner. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, February 15, from 4-8 p.m. at the Norman Dean Home for Services, 16 Righter Avenue, Denville, New Jersey. Elinor is survived by a family whom she treasured: Joseph, her husband of 56 years; her daughter Marybeth Smith and her husband Brandon; her son David Longobardi and his wife Ruth; her son Dr. Stephen Longobardi and his wife Coutmin; and her grandchildren Marjorie, Lucas and William Smith, and Isaac, Emily and Lucy Longobardi; and by many other dear relatives and friends. Her sister Rose Coletta died in 2012. Those who wish may make donations in Elinor’s memory to St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital by way of www.inmemoryof-memorial.org. Please share your memories with her family at www.normandean.com.