Obituary of Flora Palazzi

Flora Palazzi (nee Damelio), 89 of Mountain Lakes passed away peacefully at home on February 18, 2016. Born in Netcong, she was raised in Dover during the Depression, by a single mother who ran a small trucking company. After graduating from Dover High School, where she was a four year varsity cheerleader, Mrs. Palazzi went to nursing school at All Souls Hospital Morristown. She enrolled at the Army's behest during World War II and was scheduled to go to Europe to care for wounded soldiers, but the war ended. Shortly after, she met her husband, Michael Palazzi, who was studying osteopathic medicine. After they settled in Mountain Lakes in 1955, Mrs. Palazzi worked in her husband's office. Dr. Palazzi passed away in 1962, leaving Mrs. Palazzi with two young sons. The lessons she learned from her mother about surviving as single mother in a man's world help Mrs. Palazzi raise her sons while forging a career. "She was a woman ahead of her time. She demanded and acquired respect everywhere she went," said her son, Michael Palazzi, 60, of Mountain Lakes. She began working at Pfizer in Parsippany as the company nurse and was promoted to health coordinator. "She was an integral part of the human resources department at the plant," said her son, Chris Palazzi, 55, who also lives in Mountain Lakes. Taking on the role of both parents, Mrs. Palazzi honed her ability to be both disciplinarian and nurturer. "We didn't get away with much," Chris Palazzi said. "She wasn't afraid to put the hammer down." Her sons remember how she once came home in her white nurses uniform and helped them push a beat-up Volkswagen bus down the street to jump start it. She tolerated Michael's high school experiments involving combustible fuels cooling in the refrigerator, and fed Chris's friends when they showed up at the house -- no matter how many or at what time. "She had a good sense of humor about those things," Michael Palazzi said. Following Mrs. Palazzi's death her granddaughter Jennie Palazzi, 25, wrote on her Facebook page, "Thank you for the toughest of love and the sassiest of genes." From the time she won "Best Dressed" at Dover High until her death, Mrs. Palazzi "dressed to the nines," Chris Palazzi said. "We would call her and say, 'Get ready, we're going out' and 10 minutes later she'd be at the door, dressed up and ready to go." Mrs. Palazzi loved to travel and took her sons to Florida and Puerto Rico when they were young. "My mother felt because she worked, when we got our winter break (from school) we were going somewhere," Chris Palazzi said. After she met Robert Lemke, the travel picked up. The couple took tours of Italy, France, China, Taiwan and South America. The couple spent winters in Englewood, Fla., after they retired. The couple has been together for five decades. Her youngest granddaughter Kendall Palazzi, 12, remembered how her "Grandy" would always stand by the door and wave goodbye until the car was out of sight. "She never said, 'Goodbye.' Kendall said. She would always say, 'So long,' because she thought 'So long' meant she would see us again." Flora was the beloved wife of the late Michael; and is survived by Robert Lemke; loving mother of Michael and his wife Deborah, and Christopher and his wife Nancy. She was the dear grandmother of Lauren, Jennie, Michael, Anna, Jack, Lisa, Nicholas, Matthew and Kendall. She was predeceased by her brother Frank Damelio, and is also survived by her sister Camille Epps and many loving nieces and nephews. Funeral will be from the Codey & Mackey Funeral Home, 107 Essex Ave. on Wednesday at 8:30 AM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes at 10 AM. Entombment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Visitation is on Tuesday from 5-8 PM.