Stella Brunetto, age 96 years, longtime resident of Delaware Township, NJ, died peacefully on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ.
Stella was born in Detroit, MI, May 2, 1927, and was the daughter of the late Mariantonia Mannino and Pietro Cucinella.
Marrying the love of her life, Anthony Brunetto on September 7, 1947, in Brooklyn, NY, the couple raised their family and lived there until 1993. Having spent many happy times over the years visiting the Ringoes, NJ, area where many of Stella’s maternal aunts and uncles lived, they decided to move over the bridge to New Jersey to be closer to family. Settling in Delaware Township, the couple created a place for the next generations to make many happy memories and Stella became a true matriarch of her growing family.
One of Stella’s great joys was gardening, and her home was known to have many beautiful flowers and bushes that she tended to with love and perfection. This enjoyment was eclipsed only by visiting with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, where she would tell them stories about her Italian heritage and cuisine. She was a tremendous cook, and the table was a place where many laughs were had and the meaning of family was cemented in the hearts of all at the table.
In Matthew 25:23 it is written: His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Stella lived a live of love and compassion, and though she will be missed, her legacy of being a kind and compassionate woman who always put family at the core of all she did, will forever be an inspiration until we are reunited with her once again.
Surviving are her sister, Josie Maltese; her uncle, Anthony Mannino; her four children and their spouses, Jerry and Ariane Brunetto, Nancy and Louis Maresca, Peter and Diana Brunetto, and John and Catherine Brunetto; six grandchildren, Anthony, Christina, Louis, Anthony, Catherine, and Cassandra; twelve great grandchildren; several extended family members; and many dear friends made throughout her time in this world.
Stella will lie in repose on Friday, April 26, 2024, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Msgr. David I. Fulton will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Victories Church, 1007 County Road 519, Baptistown, NJ (Kingwood Township or Frenchtown for GPS). Everyone is kindly asked to meet directly at the church on Saturday morning beginning at 10:45 a.m. and to follow the instructions of the Wright & Ford Care Team Family Ambassadors regarding parking.
Following Mass, Stella will be laid to rest with her beloved husband, Anthony, at St. Magdalen Mausoleum, North Main Street, Flemington, NJ, and to which all are welcome.
You are encouraged to visit Stella’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.
Memorial contributions in her honor and memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, via mail to 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, or online by clicking HERE.
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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”
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