Kathleen DiCesare, age 85, of Lanoka Harbor, passed away Feb. 17, 2024, with her two daughters by her side. She was born Jan. 30, 1939, to Helen and Thomas McLean. Her father died when Kathleen was just 4 years old. She was raised in Bayonne by her grandmother Mary, her mother and her stepfather Charles Caruso, along with siblings Mary, Margret, James and Frances, all of whom predeceased her. She has a surviving half-sister, Elizabeth “Betty” Caruso from Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Kathleen graduated from Bayonne High School and then began working as an executive secretary for the Port Authority in New York. She was employed there until 1969 when she began “the most important and greatest job of my life,” mother to her three children. Kathleen returned to work in 1987 at Community Medical Center, Toms River, as an emergency room registrar. She worked there until her retirement. Kathleen was affectionately known as the “Cookie Lady” for always baking and bringing in her delicious homemade cookies for the overnight staff.
On Sept. 26, 1964, Kathleen married John DiCesare in Bayonne. They lived and began their family in Bayonne before moving to Lacey Township in 1975. This would become their home and where they chose to raise their children, Colleen, Jill and John. Kathleen cherished her role as wife and mother more than anything. She was a kind, loving and devoted woman who was always there for her children. There was nothing she could not do – from cutting the grass to taking care of the pool, she did it all and still managed to get a delicious home-cooked meal on the table every night.
Kathleen enjoyed reading, gardening, nature and cooking. She was an amazing baker. Above all else Kathleen loved her family dearly. She and her husband John loved to entertain family and friends every summer at their home. You could always count on them to have a bushel of crabs ready for you when you arrived and a fresh bowl of linguini with crab sauce ready for dinner! And of course, there was always enough wine, funny stories and laughter to make your time with them memorable. In her later years, Kathleen enjoyed nothing more than being home surrounded by her family and precious grandchildren.
Kathleen was predeceased by her loving husband of 54 years John A. DiCesare (2019) and her beloved and devoted son John M. DiCesare (2024). She is survived by her daughters and their spouses, Colleen and Bob Ackerman of Rumson and Jill and John Kozack of Tinton Falls, and six adoring grandchildren, Jack, Samantha, Kathleen (Kate) and Alex Hennen, and Ryan and John Kozack.
Visitation was held March 1 at Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank. A Memorial Mass was held March 1 at St. James Church, Red Bank.
This article originally appeared in the March 7 – 13, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
