Stella M. Palumbo, 97, a 51-year resident of Little Silver, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. She was born in Easton, Pennsylvania to the late Joseph and Mary (Sanguinita) Yacone.
Stella was a communicant of the Church of the Nativity, Fair Haven.
In 1942, Stella joined the war effort as a volunteer nurse’s aide at the Easton Hospital. Her primary responsibility was that of a caregiver to returning military personnel from overseas. In 1943, she was employed by the Joshua Hendy Iron Works of Sunnyvale, California within the material logistics department for production of World War II marine engines.
In 1944 Stella was hired by the U.S. Army and assigned to the Van Nuys Army Airfield (formerly Metropolitan Airport). Her responsibilities included material requisition during the deployment of the first experimental test flights of the Navy Lockheed P-80 “Gray Ghost” Turbojet, America’s first production fighter jet, later called the “Shooting Star.” She often recalled witnessing the first test flights at Van Nuys, as well as additional test flights from nearby Lockheed Air Terminal (Burbank) and Muroc Air Base (now Edwards Air Force Base).
An avid golfer, she was a member of the Navesink Country Club in Middletown and the Broken Sound Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. Stella was an active traveler and loved to cook. Most of all, she loved her family.
Stella is predeceased by her husband, John R. Palumbo, and four siblings. Her remaining sister, Grace Demarco, resides in Easton. Surviving are her three children: John R. and Mary Lou of Oceanport; Jeffrey J. and Nancy of Little Silver; and James J. and Dinny of Rumson; and her four grandchildren: Bryan, Chad, Brett and Amy; and 6 or 7 great-grandchildren, depending on our welcoming Amy’s newest, due any day.
Visitation was held on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. A Mass of Christian Burial took place on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the Church of the Nativity, Fair Haven, followed by entombment at Woodbine Cemetery.
Please visit Stella’s memorial page at johnedayfuneralhome.com.
