Mildred Citro of Pompton Lakes NJ passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Tuesday, December 11, 2018, at Hoag Hospital in Irvine CA.

Mildred was born on December 15, 1921 in Haskell NJ to Louise and Joseph DeFazio.  She was 96 and lived a full life. Mildred married Samuel Citro (pre-deceased) on September 25, 1943.  They had two children, Guy (pre-deceased) and Mary Ann (Profeta).  Mildred was the oldest of five: three sisters, Mary, Josephine, and Violet and brother, Neil (pre-deceased).  She graduated from Butler (NJ) High School in 1939 and worked at E.I. DuPont de Nemours in Pompton Lakes NJ as a munitions specialist during WWII. For 20 years, she worked for Sterns Department Store (Wayne NJ) as a human relations specialist, retiring in 1984. She had a career well before it was fashionable for women to do so.

Mildred was a devout Catholic and a parishioner at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Pompton Lakes NJ for over 75 years.  She served on many parish ministries and most recently worked as a volunteer in their Food Pantry, helping stock and shelf food donations to help feed the hungry.

Mildred lived a very active lifestyle.  She enjoyed the outdoors and spending time on the water.  She also loved to cook and bake.  Her crumb cake made her famous and she loved cooking Italian cuisine.  She lived by the proverb that “It is better to work until you die than to be idle just because you are old.”  Even though her sight was failing, she prepared trays of Christmas cookies in the last few weeks.  When she was hospitalized, she reminded us that we should prepare the meatballs that she had made.

Her house was always immaculate and she welcomed guests, especially for the holidays.  When grandson Greg’s home was being renovated, she invited the family to stay with her, which they did.

Not afraid of technology, Mildred would enjoy downloading and reading Danielle Steele novels on her Kindle while sitting comfortably by the fire.

She loved dogs.  Her grandchildren can recount many stories she shared about their Boxer, Ginger.  More recently, she was accompanied by Mary Ann and Randy’s Black Labrador, Nala as she worked around the house during her many visits to California. She would tolerate cats.

What she enjoyed the most was spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She cherished their time together and her face would always glow when she held newborns.  She had a chance to meet and hold Jordan Darius, the newest member of the family, born in November.

Mildred is survived by her daughter, Mary Ann (Profeta) and son-in-law Randolph Profeta, six grandsons: Marc Citro (Alicia), Brian Citro (April), Michael Citro (Lisa), Douglas Profeta (Anel), Gregory Profeta (Jeanny), Daniel Profeta (Sogol), and eleven great-grandchildren.

The family will greet friends in California at Santiago de Compostela Church in Lake Forest on Monday, December 17 from 9:30 am and are welcome to attend her mass at 10 am with an informal repast immediately following.  There will also be a service at St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes NJ on Friday December 21 at 11 am.