Services for Francine Gianni are Tuesday

Local woman will be memorialized at Newark church.

  Funeral services for Francine A. Gianni, 31, will be held at St. Lucy's Church, 118 7th Ave., Newark, N.J., on Tuesday, April 16, at 10:30 a.m., according to an April 12 obituary in the Star-Ledger. Gianni was the wife of Timothy Gianni, whose family owns the Maplewood Stationers in Maplewood Village. She was the store's clerical manager and also was a professional assistant at the Prout Funeral Home. She was closely involved in the South Orange-Maplewood Kiwanis Memorial Day Duck Race. She died from a rare adverse reaction to fertility drugs; she was pregnant at the time. Gianni's mother-in-law, Eleanor Y. ("Ellie") Gianni, passed away March 15. Her sister-in-law, Claire Sinclair, a Tuscan Elementary School teacher, has been blogging …

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A Eulogy for My Mother

Maplewood woman shares the eulogy she delivered at funeral of her mother, Ellie Gianni.

  (Editor's note: Eleanor "Ellie" Gianni passed away March 15. Her daughter, Claire Sinclair, gave the eulogy at the funeral Thursday morning at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Sinclair had blogged about her mother's illness, and her life, at "A Project for Kindness" and she graciously allowed Patch to post the eulogy here). Good morning, My family and I want to thank all of you for being here today to celebrate our mom.  We always knew what an amazing, generous and kind woman she was, and this last week, the outpouring of love and support has proven this to be true.  Thousands, (and that is not an exaggeration), of emails, texts, calls and messages have come to us.  The lines at her wake were so long, at times, they were out the door. I want …

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Eleanor "Ellie" Gianni Passes Away

Beloved community member, owner of Maplewood Stationers, aka "The Duck Lady," dies at 67.

Storyteller, Maplewood Native Diane Wolkstein Passes Away

Official NYC storyteller, helped revive the art of storytelling.

  Diane Wolkstein, a children’s author who helped revive the art of storytelling in her role as New York City's official -- and unofficial -- storyteller, died Thursday at the age of 70, according to The New York Times.  Wolkstein grew up in Maplewood. She staged hundreds of storytelling events in New York City parks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, hosted a radio show on WNYC for twelve years, helped create the Storytelling Center of New York City, which trains thousands of volunteers and sends them into the city’s public schools and libraries, and authored two dozen books, according the Times article. She also helped establish the tradition of Saturday morning storytelling at the foot of the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central …

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HK Project Seeks Donations for Family of Deceased CHS Grad

Family of Cassandra Duke '11 need help to afford her burial.

  HK Project is coordinating a fundraising drive to help the family of a recently deceased Columbia High School alumna to bury their granddaughter. Cassandra Duke, 20 years old, passed away on January 23 from complications of the flu and pneumonia. After her parents died (her mother passed away just six weeks after she was born), Cassandra was raised by her grandmother, Carolyn. Raised in Maplewood, Cassandra went to Seth Boyden Elementary School and Maplewood Middle School. As a child, she studied dance at the Burgdorff Center and was a pee-wee cheerleader. She graduated from CHS in 2011. Her family has held a small family service at the Chapels of Eden Funeral Home in East Orange, but are unable to complete the funeral arrangements. HK …

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St. James Gate Hearing Leads Maplewood News this Week

Here's a look at what readers were talking about this week.

  Judge: Complaint Against St. James Gate Bartender Should Move Forward A Bloomfield municipal court judge ruled a complaint accusing a Maplewood bartender of assaulting a patron should move forward.  Chief Municipal Magistrate Judge John A. Paparazzo found probable cause Thursday after hearing testimony from 24-year-old South Orange resident, Ethan Kresofsky, accusing St. James’s Gate Publick House's bartender, James Meade, of assault.   William "Chip" Madsen Will Be Memorialized Saturday William “Chip” Madsen of Maplewood passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2013 after a relentless fight with metastasized melanoma cancer. His memorial service was on Saturday at Morrow Memorial Church.   Man Arrested for Burglary after Foot Chase …

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William "Chip" Madsen Will Be Memorialized Saturday

Service will be held at Morrow Church on Saturday for this longtime South Orange - Maplewood resident

William “Chip” Madsen of Maplewood passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2013 after a relentless fight with metastasized melanoma cancer.  Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church, 600 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood, on Sat, January 26th at 11:00 AM.   Chip never did anything without energy, commitment and passion.  He married his college sweetheart and remained passionately in love with her until the end.  He was a classically trained musician who was a professional opera singer in Germany and the United States for several years.  In recent years, his passion was his fierce belief in social justice for all, advocating for the betterment of children’s lives and mentoring young …

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Kidnapping, Car Crash and Parking Debate Top Maplewood News

Here's what you missed this week in town.

  Maplewood - South Orange to Remember Ann Thompson Local resident, mother of three was memorialized at St. George's Church on Friday.   Maplewood Police Arrest Man for Allegedly Kidnapping Teen A 22-year-old Brooklyn man was arrested and charged with kidnapping and assaulting a 17-year-old Maplewood girl, according to Maplewood Police. The man, Abu Mamun of of 484 E. 4th St., allegedly removed the girl by force from her Maplewood home on Nov. 6 and brought her to the Brooklyn residence they formerly shared. Police located the girl and returned her to her Maplewood home.   Tax Assessment Letters Will Be Mailed Next Week Maplewood property owners can expect to find new property assessments in their mailboxes soon. Appraisal Systems, Inc., …

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Maplewood - South Orange to Remember Ann Thompson

Mother of three, beloved wife, Ann Thompson will be memorialized this Friday at St. George's.

  The following is from the family of Ann Thompson: We are sad to convey that Ann Thompson of Maplewood died suddenly on Thursday, November 29, 2012.  Ann was the wife of Steven Thompson and devoted mother of Samantha, a sophomore at Loyola University of Maryland; Andrew, a first-year student at Columbia High School; and Connor Thompson, a 6th-grader at Maplewood Middle School.  Ann was the daughter of Diane Kischell and the late Richard Kischell, and the sister of Robert Kischell, both of Connecticut.  Ann graduated from Drew University, Madison, NJ in 1982 with majors in German and Mathematics.  She began her 24-year career with Deutsche Bank as a clerk in the Trade Finance Department and moved up the ranks to her position as a well-…

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CHS Alum Benjamin Greenfield Dies at 29

A security engineer for Google, Inc., extreme rock climber and snowboarder, Greenfield grew up in South Orange.