MaryJo Cece

On a foggy misty Sunday in October MaryJo was born in Newark, New Jersey to Theresa and Gerardo “Jerry” Grasso. In 1961 MaryJo “Mare” moved to Bloomfield where she subsequently graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1969. On March 6, 1975 MaryJo welcomed her first daughter, Shawn, into this world. A few years later in 1981 Mare married the love of her life, Robert, and together Robert, MaryJo and Shawn started the Cece family. The family of three soon expanded by one when Robert and MaryJo welcomed their second daughter, Jaclyn, on October 17, 1986. Throughout the years Mare worked for Traveler's Village and Mountainside Hospital as an administrative assistant in the pediatric clinic. Later on in her career returned to work per diem as an administrative assistant at the Wound Care Center.

MaryJo, Robert, Shawn and Jaclyn were a typical close knit Italian-American family. During the week you could find them getting together with Genevieve and the Cece family and don’t be surprised to be yelled at by Mare if you messed with her brother Jerry’s food that she cooked for him during the week. On Sundays you could find the Cece family with Theresa and the Grasso family; Jaclyn, Jen, and Gina stealing the meatballs was a common occurrence. As the years went on Robert and MaryJo could be seen cooking and singing in the kitchen helping each other make Mare’s famous beef soup. Unfortunately, this love story was cut short in 2014 when MaryJo became Shawn and Jaclyn’s guardian angel. The tragic loss of Mare took a toll on the Cece family until 2016 when new life was brought into this world, MaryJo’s first grandchild, Madison Jade, was born on September 7th. Although MaryJo never got meet Madison here on earth she sent her to Jaclyn, Shawn and Robert as a reminder that Mare may not be physically present but everyday she is present through this beautiful little girl.