Obituaries

Robert E. Bell

Mr. Bell, 73, of Old Bridge, died April 27 in St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick. Surviving are his wife, Della Bell; three daughters, Deborah O’Brien of Ossining, N.Y., Sue Ellen Savitsky of the Toms River section of Dover and Bonnie Lally of Brick; two sisters, Shirley Smith and Joyce Sprague, both of East Brunswick; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Services were held at Rezem Funeral Home, East Brunswick. Interment was in Old Tennent Cemetery, Tennent section of Manalapan. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.

Joseph Corda Jr.

Mr. Corda, 65, of Old Bridge, died April 26 in St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick. His father, Joseph Jr., died in 1997. Surviving are his mother, Mary Corda of Old Bridge; a sister, Rosemary Galioto of Old Bridge; a cousin, Fran Chester of Rutherford; and two nieces, Donna Johnson and Tiffany Marie Corda, both of Old Bridge. Services were held at Michael Hegarty Funeral Home, Old Bridge. Interment was private.

Michael David Polst

Mr. Polst, 36, of Old Bridge, formerly of East Brunswick, died April 27 in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick. Surviving are his wife, Bette Wentz Polst; a son, Dylan; his parents, Frances and Robert Polst of East Brunswick; a brother, Joseph Polst of Old Bridge; two sisters, Kelli Perrotte of Edison and Jeanette Fisher of Hamilton; and two nieces and four nephews. Services were held at Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick. Interment was in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, East Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to the family to establish a trust fund for Mr. Polst’s 7-month-old son.

Maria Teresa Gilpin

Mrs. Gilpin, 48, of Manalapan, died April 21 in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick. She was a teller at Sovereign Bank, Manalapan, for the past two years. Prior to that, she was an inventory planner at Siemen’s Medical Systems, Monroe. Surviving are her husband, John; two sons, Shawn and Jordan, both at home; her mother, Maria Teresa Rodriguez of Hazlet; three brothers, Wilson Contreras of North Brunswick, Oscar Contreras of Sayreville and William Contreras of Old Bridge; and three sisters, Elsa Rodriguez of South River, Lucy Contreras of Sayreville and Jacquelyn Contreras of Colombia. A funeral liturgy was offered at St. Thomas More Church, Manalapan. Arrangements were under the direction of Freeman Manalapan-Marlboro Funeral Home, Manalapan.

Julie Evans Tafuni

Mrs. Tafuni, 61, of the Parlin section of Sayreville, died April 28 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy division. Surviving are her husband, Anthony; a daughter, Elizabeth Ericson of Spotswood; a son, Robert Thompson of North Brunswick; and two grandchildren, Ryan and Troy Ericson of Spotswood. A Mass was offered at Our Lady of Victories Church, Sayreville. Entombment was in Sacred Heart Mausoleum, Parlin.

Thomas J. Marine

Mr. Marine, 82, of the Parlin section of Sayreville, died April 24 in CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. His wife, Rita, died in 2003. Surviving are two daughters, Donna Gulzeth of Brick and Joanne Della Pietro of Keyport; a son, Bill of Cream Ridge; and two grandchildren, Terrence McCarthy and Tiffany Gulzeth. A Mass was offered at St. Bernadette’s Church, Parlin section of Old Bridge. Interment was in Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arnytown section of North Hanover. Memorial contributions may be made to Visiting Nurse Association Hospice, Bodman Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701.

Patricia A. Bronsky Quabeck

Mrs. Quabeck, 58, of the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge, died April 27 in Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch. Surviving are her husband, George Quabeck; a brother, John Bronsky of Jamesburg; a sister, Christine Kline of Scotch Plains, and a twin sister, Kathy Kudzik of Clark; and many nieces and nephews. A Mass was offered at St. Lawrence Church, Laurence Harbor. Interment was in Forest Green Park Cemetery, Marlboro.

Charles Rellinger

Mr. Rellinger, 94, of Old Bridge, died April 21 in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. Surviving are his wife, Regina Huwer Rellinger; a son, Mark of Old Bridge; three daughters, Judy Ackerman of Rutherford; Dale Giackette of the Parlin section of Sayreville and Donna Donovan of East Brunswick; 17 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Entombment was in Marlboro Memorial Cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Michael Hegarty Funeral Home, Old Bridge. Memorial contributions may be made to the Greater New Jersey Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 117 Kinder Kamack Road, River Edge, NJ 07761.

Theresa Archacki Ciszewski

Mrs. Ciszewski, 78, of the Parlin section of Sayreville, died April 29 in Barbara E. Cheung Memorial Hospice, Edison. She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard “Jacko” Ciszewski. Surviving are two daughters, Sandra Fogler of Parlin and Patricia Boyle of the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick; a sister, Clara Slicner of the Fords section of Woodbridge; and four grandchildren. A Mass was offered at Sacred Heart Church, South Amboy. Interment was in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Parlin. Memorial contributions may be made to Make-A-Wish Foundation, 1034 Salem Road, Union, NJ 07083, or the Barbara E. Cheung Memorial Hospice, 1 Roosevelt Drive, Edison, NJ 08837.

Catherine Yanas Prusakowski

Mrs. Prusakowski, 98, of the Melrose section of Sayreville, died April 28 at home. Prior to her retirement, she worked for many years as a cook at Spezzi’s Restaurant, Parlin section of Sayreville. Prior to that, she was a self-employed caterer for 30 years. Her husband, George, died in 1968; a son, Stanley F., died in 2001; and a daughter-in-law, Jacqueline, died in 1989. Surviving are seven grandchildren, Ted Prusakowski, Jerry Prusakowski, Jim Prusakowski, Stanley Prusakowski Jr., Janice Snyder, MaryBeth Crowley and Theresa Gallagher; four sisters, Sally Hoff, Thecla Kowalski, Margaret Nizolek and Gertrude Spezzi; three brothers, Matthew Yanas, Theodore Yanas and Edward Yanas; 19 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren. A Mass was offered at Sacred Heart Church, South Amboy. Interment was in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Parlin.

Charles A. Nilsen

Mr. Nilsen, 88, of the Parlin section of Sayreville, died April 28 in Bayshore Hospital, Holmdel. Prior to his retirement, he worked as a bus driver for Red and Tan Lines, Jersey City, and for Hi Lo Bus Co., Old Bridge. His first wife, Helen Glowacki Nilsen, died in 1980. Surviving are his wife, Loretta Zielinski Nilsen; a son, Charles A. Nilsen of Hainesport; two daughters, Karen Bean of Jackson and Elaine Nilsen of Howell; a sister, Norma Andersen of Kingston, N.Y.; three stepsons, Edward, Joseph and John Zielinski; a stepdaughter, Gloria Szerszen; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; 18 step-grandchildren; and 24 step-great-grandchildren. Services were held at Gundrum Service Home for Funerals, South Amboy. Entombment was in Franklin Memorial Park Mausoleum, North Brunswick.

Dorothy Sullivan Heitz

Mrs. Heitz, 74, of East Brunswick, died April 27 at home. Director of religious education from 1982-1992 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Old Bridge, she also began the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program at the church. Prior to her retirement in 2003, she was director of the Office for Shared Ministry for the Diocese of Metuchen. Recently, she was on the consulting committee for The Voices of Women in the Church project. She once served as mayor of East Brunswick. Her husband, Donald F. Heitz, died in 1969, and a son, Donald G. Heitz, died in 1979. Surviving are five children, Mary Heitz of Santa Rosa, Calif., Susan Palmer of Tillamook, Ore., Dorothy Coffey of New Brunswick, Charles Heitz of South River and Joseph Heitz of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; and two granddaughters, Lauren A. Heitz and Caroline E. Coffey. A Mass was offered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Interment was in St. Peter’s Cemetery, New Brunswick.