Gertie May Be Gone But She Will Never Be Forgotten
Nov 4 – write an obituary for an ancestor
Gertrude Thomas Hopkins Parise, 85, passed away on September 16, 2002 in Cape Coral, FL.
She was born Dorothy Gertrude Thomas on January 20, 1917 in Scranton, PA to George and Lena Thomas. The oldest of five, her grandmother called her Gertrude, so that is what she went by for the rest of her life. She fell in love and married Leon Hall Hopkins on April 11, 1936. They had three children and were active in the community, frequently appearing in the Scranton social pages. Sometime after their third child was born, the family moved to New Jersey where there was the promise of good jobs.
Things did not work out and Gert found herself a single mom in the projects in Seth Boyden NJ. She worked a variety of jobs to support the family for companies such as a retail clerk at Woolworth’s and in the meat-packing plant for A&P. Though she worked full time, she still found time to plan and throw elaborate parties for her children and was well loved by their friends. She also continued her habit of providing for those less fortunate; no one went hungry when she could help it.
In time, she met another man, Dan Healing, with whom she had a long-time relationship and who became a step-father of sorts to her children and a loving grandfather to her grandchildren. They ultimately went their separate ways.
Gert achieved a modest level of fame singing in nightclubs in the Newark, NJ area before turning to her talent for cooking as a short-order cook in a tavern in Newark. She continued this line of work when she moved to Colonia, N.J. where she ran Gert’s Kitchen at the Rahway Inn.
Not one to leave her talents at work, she hosted many holiday events and was especially known for her cooking, especially her baked ziti. She loved knick-knacks of all kinds but was especially fond of salt and pepper shakers of which she had hundreds.
On October 3, 1989, after Leon’s death, she married again, making her long-term relationship with Joe Parise official. Shortly after, they moved to Point Pleasant, NJ where she lived a semi-retired life, working occasionally as a “home organizer.” She was a doting grandmother and would drop everything when the kids came to visit. She was widowed in 1995 and in 1997 moved to Florida with her daughter Donna.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Leon Hopkins and Joe Parise, her brother John Thomas and his wife Helen, and her brother George Thomas Jr.
She is survived by her sister Doris Dargan, her sister-in-law Olive Thomas, her brother Albert Thomas and his wife Mary, her children, Lee Hopkins, Donald Hopkins and Donna and her husband Tony Venturi, three grandchildren and their spouses and four great-grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.