[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ANTOINETTE TRIFARI

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2009

  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I would like to call to your attention 
the life of an outstanding individual, Antoinette Trifari. She will 
mark her 100th birthday with a celebration, joined by family and 
friends, some of whom are traveling great distances to be part of this 
happy occasion.
  It is only fitting that she be honored in this, the permanent record 
of the greatest democracy ever known, for she has brought so much joy 
to the lives of others throughout her lifetime.
  Antoinette is a native of the great City of Paterson, NJ. She was 
born there on July 9, 1909 to Angelina and John Pescatore, and was the 
fifth of fourteen children. She attended Paterson schools, going first 
to School 19, then graduating from School 5. Then at age fourteen, she 
began working, sewing pearls and sequins onto fabric that was used for 
opera gowns. Antoinette soon went on to work for more than ten years in 
Paterson's world famous silk and textile mills.
  Antoinette was married on June 9, 1935 to Edmund Trifari, also of 
Paterson, who had attended New Jersey Law School. The wedding was held 
at St. Anthony's R.C. Church and was officiated by the groom's brother, 
Reverend Aloysius Trifari, a Salesian priest. Two years later, the 
Trifaris welcomed twins, Edmund, Jr. and Nancy Angela. The young family 
soon moved to a new development of Cape Cod homes on the outskirts of 
Paterson, known as Colonial Village. Antoinette and Edmund lived there 
together until Edmund passed away on January 2, 2003, after sixty-seven 
and a half years of marriage. She remained in their home until 2005 
when she moved to Connecticut to live with Edmund, Jr. and his wife 
Claire Elwood. Her daughter Nancy lives in England with her husband 
George Dowden.
  Over the years, Antoinette has been blessed not only with her 
children, but with seven grandchildren; Conrad, MaryBeth and Michael 
Roncati, and TerriAnn, Edmund III, John and Brian Trifari. Now, she 
also has thirteen great-grandchildren; Conrad Maxwell, Dean, Mia, 
Dylan, Carissa Roncati and Jessica Bates, Abigaile, James, Ryan and 
Michael Sands, Joshua, Nicholas and Tyler Trifari. She is also the 
loving aunt of countless nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
  She is well known throughout the Paterson area for a business that 
she began. She made poodles out of commercial yarn; they were so 
creative and lifelike that the yarn company featured a story about her 
in their corporate magazine. She also continues crocheting, a lifelong 
hobby she still enjoys. Antoinette also has a passion for helping 
people and volunteering. She was a member of St. Mary's R.C. Church in 
Paterson her entire life until she moved, and is a now a parishioner of 
Saint Peter Claver R.C. Church in West Hartford. Even into her nineties 
she was a volunteer at St. Joseph's Home for the Aged in Totowa, NJ. 
She made many lasting friendships and touched many lives through her 
involvement with the Little Sisters of the Poor. When she moved in 2006 
to Middlewoods Assisted Living Home in Farmington, Connecticut, she 
immediately became an active participant in many of their programs. She 
is the assistant to the pianist in the Choral Group, attends Sunday 
outings visiting historic and cultural points of interest around 
Connecticut, and is a tutoring mentor for young children. She enjoys 
playing Scrabble with friends and playing solitaire on the computer, 
and most of all, sharing her joy of life and her love with all those 
she encounters.
  The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is 
rewarding, yet nothing compares to celebrating and recognizing 
individuals like Antoinette Trifari.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Antoinette's 
family and friends, everyone at St. Joseph's Home in Totowa, New 
Jersey, all those who have been touched by her, and me in recognizing 
Antoinette Trifari.

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