Mary Scibetta Obituary
Mary (nee Bogan) was born in Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City in 1933. She was one of twelve children born to Mary (Polly) and Edward Bogan.
She lived in the Lafayette section of Jersey City, then moved to Bradley Gardens when she was about 11 or 12 and attended St. Joseph's school in Raritan. If she missed the bus, she had to walk about 1-2 miles with her brothers Tommy and Jack and sometimes walked on an ice-covered river. She then moved to the Netherwood section of Scotch Plains and attended St. Bernard's school. Then she move back to Jersey City and attended All Saints School for 8th grade where she said she had the best time of her life and she had the most wonderful nun. She went to Lincoln High School in Jersey City for about a year. Then she attended St. Bridget's High School where she was taught secretarial skills, like typing and shorthand. Once during Mary's high school years, Mary and her girlfriend played hooky from school and went into New York City to see Frank Sinatra in concert.
Mary said that she had no desire to go to school, so her mom told her that she had to get a job. So at 16 years old, Mary left school and got a job at Kaltman and Company in the Heights of Jersey City. She was an order taker and called drug stores saying "Kaltman calling, is there anything you need today?" She typed up the order on three layers of paper and put it on a conveyor belt so it can be filled and sent out for delivery. To commute, she had to walk 3 blocks to get the bus, then walk 3 long blocks. She said she got real skinny with this job because of all the walking.
During this time she started dating the love of her life Peter J. Scibetta whom she met at a dance in Jersey City. Then Mary's family moved to Roselle. She kept the job in Jersey City taking the bus and then the train, but then it got to be too much, so she quit and got a job in a K-mart type of store next to Roselle. Pete would drive to Roselle sometimes picking her up from work and taking her out, or driving her home. They got married in St. Joe's Church in Roselle on January 7, 1951 and had their wedding reception in Jersey City. After their reception they headed to NYC to take the train to their honeymoon in Washington DC. When they were crossing the street in NYC, they saw Jimmy Durante with a beautiful tall woman, and he tipped his hat to them and said, "Howya doin' folks?"
They moved into a 4-roomed, cold-water flat on the third floor of a row house in Downtown Jersey City. The apartment had no heat, no furnace, just a pot-bellied stove in the living room. It had a stove in the kitchen and a hot water heater to boil water for cooking. The kitchen sink had hot water and it was used for bathing since there was no shower and no tub in the apartment. They had an old-fashioned washing machine on wheels. Pete and Mary had five children in this apartment. Pete was working very hard and managed to save enough money to move into a brand new home in Wayne, NJ, with a big yard for the children to play in and Mary was very happy. She said that was the best move that they ever made.
Mary and Pete had five more children during their years in the Preakness section of Wayne. Even though Mary was a housewife, she managed to get involved in outside activities, mostly through Our Lady of the Valley Church. She sang in the choir, she organized the Eucharistic adoration schedule of volunteers, and she participated in many fundraising events, like the annual Family Festival. She volunteered as the school liason which meant that she had to spend countless hours on the phone calling parents. She also joined the OLV bowling league and earned a trophy for most improved bowler in 1962. She took up sewing for a while and one year made all her daughters' Easter dresses. She was always busy around the house, as there was so much to do. Her best friend Josephine Seele would come over sometimes and help her straighten up, and sometimes they would put on the TV and do exercises with Jack La Lane.
Mary was very outgoing, a social butterfly. She loved people and had a great sense of humor. She love meeting new people and talking to people. She would meet a new person and know his/her whole life story in 10 minutes, because Mary took a genuine interest in people. She would ask them questions about their life, and she really cared about them. She had a real talent like that, she was a great interviewer, even though she may not have realized that's what she was doing.
When Mary moved to the suburbs, she decided that she needed to learn how to drive. She got her license and she was driving everyone non-stop, mostly driving the kids to all their school and sporting events. Pete worked two jobs, so Mary had to deal with so much of the rearing of the children. It was not easy for her, but she did it.
Mary was a woman of great faith. She sent her children to Catholic school and took them to church every Sunday. It wasn't easy getting everyone ready and into the station wagon every Sunday morning. Mom would make sure that all the kids were ready before she got herself ready. So, everyone waited for her in the car and she came outside looking like a million bucks. If the family was going to be in the car for a long trip, she would have them all say the rosary. Then they would have sing-alongs, anything to keep ten kids at peace while travelling.
As if Mary wasn't busy enough, at the age of 50 she graduated from nursing school and became an LPN. She loved helping people as she worked as a nurse. She also worked part-time at the Plains Pharmacy on Valley Road.
Mary and Pete enjoyed travelling in their later years. They went on pilgrimages to Rome (five times), Lourdes, and Fatima. They vacationed many years in Wildwood, NJ. Mary also went to Hawaii and got her picture taken with Don Ho. Her son-in-law Tom once took her to New York to see the David Letterman Show. She loved singing and dancing, and at one point in her life she wanted to be an actress.
Mary is predeceased by her husband Pete (October 2020), an infant daughter Theresa, and son-in-law Peter Moraca. She is survived by five daughters, and five sons. Peter and his wife Barbara, Mary Jane Doud and her husband Tom, Bernadette, John and his wife Marianne, Sarah and her husband Tom, Frances Moraca, Blaise, Edward and Irene, Michael and his wife Allyson, and Nancy Meyer and her husband Dave.
She is the cherished grandmother of twenty-one. Brian Scibetta and his wife Shadi, David Scibetta, Christopher Doud and his wife Kristina, Ryan Doud, Kate Doud, Michael Zeigler and his fiancé Kate Woodward, Samantha Scibetta, Jaclyn and her husband Mike Bollard, Allesandra Scibetta, Melanie Nunziata and her fiancé Jahmal McKenzie, Thomas Nunziata and his wife Samantha, Ann Ziata, Amanda Moraca, Peter Moraca, Elena Scibetta, Bethany Scibetta, and the Meyers: Kayla, Shayna, Heather, Sabrina and Chloe.
Mary is survived by four great-grandchildren. Lily Scibetta, Sophia Mann, Mia Moraca, and Dominic Velez.
She is predeceased by her brothers Eddie, Tommy, Frank, and Vinnie Bogan, and baby sister Margaret. She is survived by siblings Jack, Joe, Bernie, Gerard and Stephen Bogan, Patricia Acken, and Sr. Maria Joseph.
She is also survived by many, many nieces and nephews, who she loved dearly.
Friends may visit with the family from 4-8 PM on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held Friday, October 8, 2021 8:45 AM from the funeral home then to Our Lady of the Valley Church, 630 Valley Road, Wayne where a 10 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Interment will be in Christ the King Cemetery, 980 Huron Road, Franklin Lakes.
Donations can be made to:Corpus Christi Monastery, 1230 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, NY 10474
