Connie M Owens

Concetta “Connie” Maria Owens of Pearl River, New York, passed away peacefully in the company of family on Sunday September 22, 2024 at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, New Jersey at the age of ninety-eight and a half years.

Connie was born in New York City on March 28, 1926 to Rosario Giordano (of Lercara Friddi, Sicily) and Francesca Paola (Battaglia) Giordano (of Capaci, Sicily). She graduated Washington Irving High School in January of 1944 where she completed her study of “Dressmaking and Dress Design of Four Years.”

Connie began her career as a bookkeeper at Henri Bendel in NYC, where she also had the opportunity to visit the custom dressmaking department and acquire remnants of fine fabrics and laces for her own projects, including making her own wedding dress.

On August 9th, 1958 she married Francis “Frank” Wayne Owens at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on Lexington Ave in New York City.

After having three sons and moving to Pearl River, New York, Connie continued her accounting career as the Treasurer of the Pearl River School District where she managed the school budget for the Board of Education, the district’s payroll, and other administrative functions for over twenty years. Working for the school district provided the luxury of being home whenever the children were home. She and Frank devoted themselves to raising their three boys.

Connie and Frank enjoyed traveling with their camper for many years, exploring sites across the United States and later settling into a seasonal spot in Nokomis, Florida.

Connie loved to sew and appreciated fine fabrics and clothing design. She is perhaps best known for her love of cooking and spent much of her time in the kitchen making Italian dishes, a simple batch of “grandma meatballs and sauce,” or baking a batch of cuccidati and sfinge for the holidays. She enjoyed watching cooking shows and challenging herself with new recipes.

Her tenacity and focus were very much in line with her Sicilian heritage, and she retained her analytical thinking and wit until the day she died. She cherished her family, especially her grandchildren and extended family who affectionately referred to her as “Mama-O.”

Her beloved husband Frank died in July of 1987 at the age of 61, after 29 wonderful years marriage. Her brother Joseph James Giordano of Bloomfield, NJ died in October 2012 at the age of 88.

Connie is survived by: her three sons Wayne and MaryLou (Donohue) Owens of Pearl River, NY, Robert and Karin (Johnson) Owens of Pearl River, NY and Steven and Jacqueline (Parsons) Owens of Denville, NJ. Eleven grandchildren living across eight states: Mark and wife Michelle; Sarah and husband Christian; Matthew and fiancée Courtney; Bridget and husband Jordan; Kevin and wife Liz; Paul, Katie, Nicole, Claire and husband James; John, and William; as well as four great-grandchildren: Cole, Cora, Jonah, Juliette, with a fifth great-grandchild on the way!

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be sent to the National Federation of the Blind at https://nfb.org/contribute/give. 

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