"You listened to me when I needed to talk. You talked to me when I needed to listen."

By: Robert Duran ~ Find A Grave Member

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♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

Born to Italian immigrants in New York City on August 6, 1908 and baptized Maria Fariello at a Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, Maria, or Margaret as she was known to her family, was the fourth child of Paul and Nancy Lorusso-Fariello of Toritto, Città Metropolitana di Bari, Puglia, Italy.

Margaret grew up in Manhattan and the Bronx. She was from a devoted, close-knit Italian family consisting of her parents and siblings.

When her mother Nancy's sisters Rosa, Isabella and Felicia Lorusso immigrated to America, they lived with Margaret's family in the Bronx until they were able to find a home of their own. It was these close-knit family values that kept the Fariello children together as they grew and had lives of their own.

While her parents raised their large family, Margaret always did her share to help. She worked hard, along with her sisters and brothers, before and after school doing "homework" which was work done at home to help supplement the family's income. The "homework" consisted of sewing done by hand. They would sew artificial flowers made out of ribbons that were used for baby's hats and dresses.

On April 2, 1933, Margaret married Dominick Palumbo in the Bronx. On September 17, 1935, she gave birth to her only child, Donald Palumbo. After her marriage to Dominick ended, Margaret raised her son Donald with the help of her family. After a period of years, Margaret married John Celli.

Margaret was employed as a sewing machine operator at the Arcadia Powder Puff Company. She was a member of Teamsters Local 210 of which she remained throughout her entire career.

After her retirement, on September 27, 1975, her husband John Celli died. Margaret then spent most her time between her son Donald's family in New Jersey and her sisters, Mary Fariello-Biritela, Anne Fariello-Bimonte, Rose Fariello-Fannan and Felicia Fariello-Proscia in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. She was in walking distance to each of them.

Devout Catholics, Margaret and her sisters would go weekly to Mass. She often reminisced how her mother Nancy would recite her prayers and say the Rosary in Italian while doing her house cleaning. Margaret enjoyed crocheting with her sisters and going a couple of times a week to Bingo at the area churches - hobbies which she continued throughout her life.

As time passed, Margaret wanted be closer to her son and grandchildren in New Jersey. In 1993, she moved to an apartment complex in Hackettstown, New Jersey where she lived on her own until 2000. At the age of 92, she went to live in Brakeley Park Center in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

Ever the optimist, Margaret commented on how she was now being served dinner at Brakeley Park Center. She embraced her life there and was active in the Red Hat Society, as well as continuing her crocheting projects and playing Bingo.

She was also befriended by the nursing staff at Brakeley Park Center where she would chat often with them.

Margaret was 2 days and 1 month shy of her 105th birthday, when on July 4, 2013, her beloved Jesus called her home.

Margaret was laid to rest next to her husband John Celli on Monday, July 8, 2013 at St. Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

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Biography lovingly written by Find A Grave Member GWTWQUEENIE. Please do not reprint without permission.

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♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

Margaret (nee: Fariello) Celli of Phillipsburg, New Jersey passed away Thursday, July 4, 2013 at the Brakeley Park Center in Phillipsburg. She was 104 years old.

Born on August 6, 1908 in New York, New York, she lived in Phillipsburg for the past 12 years after residing the majority of her life in the Bronx, New York.

Margaret was a devout Roman Catholic and attended Mass weekly. She was a great Bingo player, marvelous at crocheting and was a member of the Red Hat Society.

She was employed for many years as a sewing machine operator for the Arcadia Powder Puff Company in the Bronx.

Margaret was the beloved wife of the late John Celli (1975) and the devoted mother of Donald Palumbo and his wife Rose of Hopatcong, New Jersey.

She was the cherished grandmother of Donald M. Palumbo of Hamburg, New Jersey and Christine A. Ciaccio and her husband Luke of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the loving great-grandmother of Gina M. Palumbo-Knudsen and her husband Thomas of Hackettstown, New Jersey and Gabriella and David Ciaccio and the treasured surrogate Grandmother of Clair J. Palumbo of Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Margaret was predeceased by her parents Paul and Nancy Lorusso-Fariello and her siblings Frank Fariello, Paul Fariello Jr., Mary Biritela, Antoinette Bimonte, Charles Fariello, Rose Fannan and Felicia Procia.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral on Monday, July 8, 2013 at 10:00AM from the Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home, 150 Landing Road, Landing, New Jersey. Thence to St. Jude RC Church, Hopatcong, where at 11:00AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.

Interment: St. Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

Margaret's Life Celebration will be held on Sunday, July 7, 2013 from 2:00PM to 5:00PM in the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her memory may be made to a charity of a person's choice.

Obituary in the New Jersey Herald on July 7, 2013.

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

My Dearest Grandma Dete ~

You were our "Watcher" ~ thank you for loving us and watching for us. I love you infinite.

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

The Watcher

By: Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978)

She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In winter by the window,
In summer by the gate.

And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
Because she waited there.

Her thoughts were all so full of us,
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.

Waiting till we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late,
Watching from Heaven's window,
Leaning on Heaven's gate.

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

"The Watcher" is a beautiful depiction of motherly love and attentiveness, and in a way the poem absolves children of their tendency to resist or roll their eyes at a watchful and concerned mother. In fact, ironically, the poem comforts the mother's children by reassuring them that their mother is still watching from heaven."

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻♥

Maternal Aunt:

Felicia or Fanny Lorusso-Andriani

♥༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻