Tina (Silow) Bivona, Red Bank, died Sept. 25, 2021, at Hoosier Village, Zionsville, Indiana. She was 79 years young.
Tina was born Anna Tina Silow, Nov. 23, 1941, to parents Nina (Gresko) Silow and William Silow of Middletown. She was predeceased by her parents; her brother William Timothy Silow, San Francisco, California; her aunt Helen (Gresko) Michalowski and her husband Boleslaw “Buddy” Michalowski of Red Bank; and their sons, Robert “Bobby” Michalowski and Ronald “Ronnie” Michalowski, both of Milford, New Hampshire.
She leaves behind her daughter Lisa A. Bivona of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; daughter Lauren B. O’Neil of Indianapolis, Indiana; son-in-law Bert H. O’Neil of Zionsville, Indiana; grandchildren Nina and Evan O’Neil; nephew Nicholas Silow, Madrid, Spain; niece Alexandra (Silow) Saphire, her husband Jason Saphire and their sons, Parker and Beau Saphire of San Diego, California; and her best friend of over 60 years, Joan (Mills) Iler, Middletown.
Tina loved Monmouth County and sustained a deep sense of place and rootedness to it as her home for the 75 years. She attended Saint Ann’s Grammar School, Keansburg, and graduated from Middletown High School in 1959. She joined the Monmouth Player’s Theatre Group in Navesink in the early 1960s, where she met Michael Peter Bivona of Rutherford. They married June 2, 1963, at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Red Bank, and settled in Sea Bright. She joined Holy Cross Catholic Church, Rumson, where she was a parishioner for over 50 years. Her daughters both attended Holy Cross School.
Tina and Mike opened the Blue Water Marina next to their family home on Ocean Avenue. Her family moved to Rumson in the mid-1970s. Tina enjoyed being a member of The Monmouth County Historical Society, Rumson Seniors, Rumson Tennis League and working on committees at The Monmouth Museum and Brookdale Community College. She enjoyed her Sea Bright friend group who coined themselves “The Farkles.”
During this time, Tina and Mike opened restaurant and jazz club The Blue Water Inn in Sea Bright, hosting jazz musicians/singers of the caliber of Tal Farlow, Johnny Hartman and many others.
In 1979 the family moved to Red Bank. Tina was thrilled to come full circle to the town where she was born, on the banks of the Navesink River, and lived in her beloved 1920’s Dutch Colonial for the next 40 years. She was the quintessential “hostess with the mostess,” preparing delicious food for whomever entered her kitchen and throwing the most lavish dinner parties and cherished Fourth of July barbecues. She embraced the true art of entertaining.
Tina earned her real estate license, starting her career with Century 21, Fair Haven, and finishing over 30 years later with Gloria Nilson, Rumson.
She took her energy and love of garage sales to a professional level, organizing and running local estate sales and buying and selling antiques. She was a passionate collector with an inherited, keen eye and appreciation for beauty and art. When Red Bank began its revitalization in the mid-1980s, Tina devoted her time and energy to help save the Women’s Club, a century-old building on Broad Street. She also helped start Riverfest (Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival) to bring the love of jazz to her community.
Tina moved to Zionsville, Indiana in 2019 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015. She was previously cared for in her Red Bank home by her amazing and loving aide Tina Deku.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the following 501(c)3, tax-exempt, nonprofit which benefits people suffering from dementia and their care givers: Joy’s House, 2028 E. Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46220 or joyhouse.org.
A Celebration of Life will be scheduled on the Jersey Shore for spring 2022. Details to follow.
The article originally appeared in the October 14 – 28, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
