With profound gratitude and reverence, we celebrate the life and legacy of Louise Lynne Tandy, matriarch, wife, mother, and grandmother, who exemplified self-sacrifice, and embodied love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance to her family, most of all, her seven grandchildren.
Louise was born in a multi-generational family home in Corona, Queens, NYC, to first-generation Italian-American parents, and she kept bundles of black-and-white photos of fondly-remembered aunts, uncles, and cousins. She taught grammar school children at St. Joseph’s School in East Rutherford, a June Taylor dancer with “recognized ability in ballet and acrobatic modern jazz and tap”, an avid reader of French classics, a voracious intellect able to converse and teach in any subject, and enjoyed traveling with her family. She valued none of these gifts and accomplishments more highly, however, than her truest treasure: her family.
Louise expertly weaved together the souls of her children and grandchildren with fastidious attention and utmost devotion, uniting us fast, however far apart life may had swept us. When she called, we knew all would be made well, and she would see to the arrangements. Holiday by holiday, birthday by birthday, event by event, visit by visit, phone call by phone call, little-dove-emoji-text-message by little-dove-emoji-text-message, she took great pains to be present by visiting, taking trips, after school activities, over vacation, school events and celebrations, graduations, hundreds of baseball games of multiple sports and a dozen marathons as our lead cheerleader, baptisms, communions, confirmations, drives up to lakes, drives down to Florida, drives out to Hershey Park, trips to Disney World, zoos, amusement parks, and train rides at Van Saun Park, which she loved to do with us more than anything. She would express great regret in having to decline an invitation (only because another grandchild had reserved the date) and then take great pains to promise catch-up session. And she always followed through on that promise.
Even more than this, Louise brought us all together around her dining table, where she reigned supreme as Queen over her court of many princes and princesses. Those many feasts, given on holidays or just thrown together at a moment’s notice and for no reason but her own pleasure, were unerringly of her sole design, plan, and execution, featuring multiple courses, finely arranged dinnerware, tables of crudite, lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells, ravioli, fried eggplant, and then, after that, perfectly executed Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas hams, Easter feasts. Every Easter was also thrown with a packed itinerary of egg dying, a candy-fueled egg hunt on a green lawn, and full dinner. Always. And as always, platters and trays and boards and dishes and crystal bowls and her gold-painted Wedding-gift china and all her most special ware overflowing with more food than could be finished regardless of how many of us arrived.
But more than that, she knew how to make each one of us “her favorite”, her complete focus, so that each one of us would believe to be the most esteemed of her, the object of her adoration. She was just an amazingly intelligent and caring woman, a light shining constantly to instruct, to gently correct, to encourage, and to strengthen. The truth is that she had no favorites but preferred glorying in each one of us for what the merit we had.
Louise was also her own archivist. Most recently she organized and collected literally thousands of pictures and memories and documents, stacked, bagged, double-bagged, crated, and stuffed in literally every corner, closet, and attic space of the house. All of those treasures are to be found with unfinished works and partial plans, all intended to bless, to please, to comfort, and to provide for her children and grandchildren. And in her children and grandchildren she would live to see all of her highest ambitions and loftiest goals and most beautiful dreams made manifest. Above all, she was a beautiful dreamer.
She is survived by Richard, her loving husband of 56 years, devoted father of her children, dance partner, travel companion, and loyal protector; dear sons Richard Jr., Robert and his wife Colleen, and Ryan and his wife Katherin; and adored grandchildren Rich, Jack , Connor, Robbie, Sean, Kieran, and Emina, in each of whom she held unique pride and was distinctly pleased. Louise is bound forever by blood and by love to us. We family and many others who were fond of her do mourn greatly, and we are thankful to God our Father for our Louise and for her years with us on this earth. The family will be thankful for your prayers and mercies at this time.
Visiting hours are Tuesday, January 14, 2025 from 4-8 PM at Pizzi Funeral Home, 120 Paris Avenue, Northvale, NJ. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 11 AM at St. Joseph RC Church, 300 Elm Street, Oradell, NJ 07649 with interment to follow at Maryrest Cemetery, Mahwah, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Louise’s memory to the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation, www.t2t.org, would be greatly appreciated.
www.pizzifuneralhome.com
Speak Your Mind