Obituary of Lenore Gertrude Parrott

Lenore Gertrude (Riedinger) Parrott died peacefully on April 19, 2021 at the age of 103 at The Oaks at Denville. Lenore was the last surviving member of her generation of the Riedinger and Parrott families. The daughter of Arthur and Edna (McConville) Riedinger, Lenore was born at home with the assistance of a midwife on May 24, 1917, in Jersey City, NJ where she grew up as the oldest of four children. After graduating from William L. Dickinson High School in 1936, she worked as a comptometrist at Western Electric (Kearny) and at Macy’s Herald Square Store (New York). Lenore married Ferdinand (aka Ferdie, Fred) Parrott on December 1, 1945 at St. Michael’s Church (Jersey City). A devoted wife to her husband and mom to her two daughters she resided in Hasbrouck Heights for 35 years, along with many members of the Parrott family, and spent summers at their home at Lake Shawnee. She was widowed in 1984, after 38 years of marriage. Lenore eventually moved to the Lake Forest section of Lake Hopatcong where she became an active member of the Golden Age Club of Milton/Jefferson. Later she moved to The Oaks in Denville, formerly Franciscan Oaks, where she earned the distinction as the most senior resident, having lived there 18 years. An active communicant, she was a member of Corpus Christi Church (Hasbrouck Heights) and Our Lady Star of the Sea Church (Lake Hopatcong). A member of “the Greatest Generation” who lived through the Depression, Lenore had a real love and talent for the domestic arts: cooking, sewing, painting, wallpapering, gardening and reading. Having been taught wonderful German cooking by her mother-in-law, the late Augusta Jenne Parrott, she became the consummate cook, hosting and catering many annual family summer picnics at “The Lake”. Although largely a stay-at-home mom, she volunteered in her daughters’ activities and later returned to work at Bamberger’s (Paramus). Lenore loved to travel and made multiple trips to Hawaii with her husband and members of the Parrott family. After being widowed, she continued to travel throughout the United States, Europe, China, and Australia. Because she was born on Queen Victoria’s birthday, she was affectionately nicknamed Queenie by her grandmother, who had emigrated from England. The nickname stuck and even her great-grandchildren knew her as Queenie. A survivor of two pandemics, Lenore was too young to remember the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 but experienced the restrictions, isolation and vaccination with minimal understanding of the current Covid-19 Pandemic. In addition to her husband and parents, Lenore is predeceased by her three brothers: Arthur Riedinger, John Riedinger and Edward Riedinger and her great-grandson, Connor Pym. Lenore is survived by her daughters Lenore Luckey (John [Jack]) of Madison and Edna Pym (Warren) of Vero Beach, Florida; her five grandchildren: Ryan Luckey (Tracy), Meghan Luckey Houston (William), Sean Luckey, Devon Pym (Melissa) and Caitlin Harris (Gregory); and her seven great-grandchildren: Mark Luckey, Liam Houston, Emily Houston, Owen Pym, Alexandria Pym, Christian Harris and Corinne Harris along with many loving nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend visitation on Friday, April 23 from 9-10 am at the Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, Inc., 106 Main Street, Madison, New Jersey adhering to CDC Guidelines – Social Distancing & Masks Required. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 10:30 am at St. Vincent Martyr Church, 26 Green Village Road, Madison. For those who wish, you may attend the Funeral Liturgy virtually via livestream by visiting www.SVMNJ.org at 10:30 am on Friday, April 23, 2021. Interment at Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen will be held privately for the family. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, Madison. In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in Lenore’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 8th Avenue, New York, New York 10001.