Phyllis Savonarola

Phyllis Savonarola, 76, of Rolling Meadows in Ocean, passed away on January 21, 2024 surrounded by her loving family. Phyllis was born in Newark to Joseph & Rosaria Piizzi, and grew up in Newark & Livingston with her brothers. Phyllis was the middle child, the daughter born between two sons. After she graduated Livingston High School in 1965, she went to work for Allstate Insurance, before landing at St. Barnabas Hospital, where she worked in the computer department for several years before meeting the love of her life Richard Savonarola at the Surf Club in Ortley Beach and marrying him in October of 1971. Soon after, her sons Dominic & Richard Jr. were born in 1975 and 1978. Phyllis spent the early years of her childrens’ lives raising them and becoming extremely active in her community in Union, New Jersey. Phyllis was vigorously involved in her parish community at Holy Spirit, where she was a fixture at fundraisers, working ‘Coffee and…”, Pre-Cana, and women’s retreats. Phyllis spent countless hours volunteering with Boy Scouts and St. Michaels CYO, where she chaperoned many Parish Retreats over the years. Along with her husband Rich, Phyllis was instrumental in forming, governing, and operating the Union Soccer League circa 1981, an intramural youth soccer league that began with 13 kids, and grew to a league of over 2,000 kids playing and enjoying youth soccer in Union. As her children reached their teenage years, Phyllis went back to work for both SK Associates & Career Consultants as a bookkeeper, where she spent 20 years until she officially retired. Phyllis & Rich moved to Ocean Township in 2006 where Phyllis again used her larger-than-life personality to enhance her new community at Rolling Meadows. Phyllis, a Breast Cancer Survivor, spearheaded the Rolling Meadows charity for Breast Cancer Research & Awareness that organized walks and other events within the community that over the years of her tenure raised over $50,000.00 for charity. Phyllis was a spitfire; full of energy and drive, and always quick with a compliment, or a bit of ‘constructive criticism’, as her friends and family know well. Phyllis’s sense of humor and smile and presence made every room better, and she was the person at the party you looked forward to seeing. She had wonderful friends and loved gathering with the gang for everything from Friday Night Pizza to a tour of Italy. She was a fierce competitor, as her fellow mahjongg cronies discovered quickly. She was kind and generous, but there was no doubt that Phyllis liked to win. She loved her husband and her sons and was the most proud of the family she & Rich built, but her favorite thing was bragging about her grandsons, Jack and Richie. She loved conversation and great food, hated being a passenger in anyone’s car, and was always most concerned that everyone ate (Did you eat? What are you gonna eat…??). Phyllis was a doer who always took care of everyone, rarely complained, and at the end handled her illness with the same strength, class, and grace she always displayed throughout her life. Phyllis was predeceased by her parents Joseph and Rosaria Piizzi, and her brother Dominick Piizzi. She is survived by her beloved husband of 52 years Richard Savonarola Sr., her sons Dominic Savonarola and Richard Savonarola, Jr., her grandsons Jack and Richie Carlo III, her brother Giacchino Piizzi, and her sister-in-law Connie Piizzi (the late Dominick), and her daughter-in-law Stacey Savonarola. A memorial mass will be offered at 10:30 on January 26, 2024, at the Church of Saint Anselm, 1028 Wayside Road, Tinton Falls, NJ 07712. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society. For online condolences, please visit Phyllis’s memorial page at www.bongarzonefuneralhome.com.

Phyllis Savonarola

July 30, 1947 - January 21, 2024