Maria Meola
Maria Meola (Gambale), 79, died Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville.
Visitation was at the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, Kearny. A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s R.C. Church, Kearny. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.
Born and raised in Castelfranci, Italy, Maria immigrated to the United States in 1958 and lived in Port Washington, Long Island, before moving to Kearny in 1972.
Mrs. Meola was a member of the Italian American Club in Belleville.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Vincent Meola; two children Angela Meola and Tony Meola and his wife, Colleen; and three grandchildren, Jonathan, Kylie and Aidan Meola.
Maria’s greatest passion was cooking for family and friends; it was one of her most cherished ways of showing love. Maria was a light to everyone she met, always offering a warm smile, a warm meal and a helping hand. She will be deeply missed by many.
Bernard P. Vigna
Bernard P. Vigna, 96, died on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
Mr. Vigna was born in Lyndhurst where he was a lifelong resident.
Bernard served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953. He enjoyed a long, illustrious career with Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he worked proudly as a salesman. Even after retiring from MetLife, Bernard’s strong work ethic kept him active. He continued in insurance sales independently and also became a valued part of the team at Frank’s Truck Center Inc., in Lyndhurst, where he formed lasting connections and friendships.
In his final years, Bernard found great happiness in the simple but meaningful routines that shaped his days. His weekly lunch dates with close friends were the highlight of his week which created moments filled with laughter, companionship and stories shared over good meals.
He also cherished his daily walks and enjoyed shopping and fine dining.
Bernard was predeceased by his beloved wife of 65 years, Evelyn M. Vigna (nee Orlikowski) in 2021 and by his dear son, Dr. Bernard Vigna in 2015. He is survived by his loving daughter, Evelyn M. Vigna and her husband, Robert Agresti and by his cherished grandchildren, Michelle and Alex Agresti.
Visitation was at the Nazare Funeral Home, Lyndhurst. A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Michael’s Church, Lyndhurst.
Ann C. Taylor (nee Schnauz)
Ann Caroline died peacefully on November 15, 2025, surrounded by her entire family. She was married to her beloved husband Drew Taylor for 54 years and was a dedicated mother to Tracy Reed (Glenn), Melissa Gallagher (John) and Drew. She treasured her role as a grandmother to Tyler, Emily, Abby, Ciara, Caitlin, Brenna and Andrew, and her granddogs Bo and Bailey. Ann was the dear sister of John and the late Tom Schnauz, along with a wonderful aunt to many nieces and nephews who cherished her deeply.
Ann was born March 20, 1952, to John and Ann (Burns) Schnauz, spending her life in Kearny up until four years ago, when she and Drew retired to Pennsylvania. She married her husband Drew in 1971 and supported him in his police career, being a part of the PBA Women’s Auxiliary, as well as being a Kearny Doe. Ann went on to be a teacher’s aide for special education at Kearny Board of Education until her retirement.
Ann enjoyed many hobbies, such as bowling, gardening, playing Yahtzee and candy crush and completing puzzles. She was her family’s personal seamstress and was never seen without her sewing machine. She was known to be a chocolate connoisseur, and you were always able to find klondikes, chocolate cherries, and Keebler’s cookies in her kitchen. She was a lifelong Giants fan, which is always a challenge, but she supported them no matter what.
After moving to the Poconos with her husband, she loved to spend time on the boat with a Rolling Rock while dancing and listening to 70s music. She will also be remembered on holidays for her world-famous desserts including her trifle and tiramisu.
All who have met her were made to feel like they were her favorite, and she made sure to tell you so. Friends and family everywhere knew that stepping foot in her home meant you became family to her. Her humor and optimism were clear to everyone that met her and continuously filled the room she stood in.
Most of all, Ann will be remembered most for the love she had for her family. Her home was filled with photos of her kids and grandkids covering the walls. She loved to travel to all the sports games, birthdays, and graduations over the years and be the biggest cheerleader. She will be incredibly missed by the Arrowhead Lake Community in which she resided in, as well as by all who have known her.
Visiting was at the Wilfred Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, Kearny. A prayer service also took place at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105-9959.
Margaret M. Gaudenzi
Margaret M. Gaudenzi of Haddonfield died Nov. 16, 2025.
She was 84.
The beloved wife of the late Thomas Gaudenzi, she was the loving mother of Christine Gaudenzi (Mark Spencer) and Jacqueline Paparone (Donald). Devoted grandmother of Chelsey Freeman (Ryan Evers), Madison Fink and Joseph Fink. Devoted great-grandmother of Rowan Evers. Dear friend Regina Dybka.
Margaret Mary Cullen was born in New York City in 1941 in an Irish immigrant family and enjoyed her city upbringing among her sister Patricia and brothers Samuel, Robert and John.
She was a gifted student who advanced through school a year ahead of her peers and she felt incredibly privileged to attend St. Jean Baptiste High School, a school that still educates girls from diverse backgrounds.
Margaret was born with the gift of storytelling and her family will miss her lore of city life, many stories told impersonating her parents’ Irish brogues. Margaret and her husband lived in many states and even Canada as his career took him on a journey of several transitions.
Margaret excelled at creating a new home for her family every two to four years depending on where Thomas Gaudenzi’s career took her. Later in life, following her early career days as an administrative assistant at Newsweek in NYC, she enjoyed a new career start as her two daughters were older. She worked at the Cherry Hill Chamber of Commerce and more recently, Bancroft, a place whose mission she felt proud to contribute to in her role supporting the President and CEO.
What made her most proud was to share stories of her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandson.
Celebration of life details will be shared at a later date. For those who wish to make any recognition of Margaret’s life, the family asks donations be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Please visit www.schetterfh.com for more.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.