Obituary of Denise DeSantis

Denise DeSantis, 75, of Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, passed away at her home on February 18, 2022.

Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Denise resided in Montville, New Jersey, before settling to Cedar Knolls, where she has lived for the past twelve years.

Denise is survived by her devoted daughters, Lisa Schoonmaker and her husband, Bill, and Christine Volker and her husband, Darren, adoring grandchildren, Tyler Volker, Alyssa Volker, Katie Schoonmaker and Matt Schoonmaker. Denise is also survived by her cherished sister, Laura Kazary and her husband, Kenny, and caring sister-in-law, Susan Malinowski, and many special nieces and nephews. Denise is predeceased by her beloved husband, Dante DeSantis (2008), and brother, Alan Malinowski.

Family and friends are welcome to gather on Monday, February 21, 2022, from 3 pm to 6 pm at Dangler Funeral Home, 600 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains. A Funeral Service will take place Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at 10 am at Dangler Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover.

A Reflection from Denise’s Daughter:

Those of you who knew our Mom knew how kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and generous she was, especially to her grandchildren, who of course were the joy in her life.  Whenever Mom would talk to anyone, she would always ask about how everyone was doing in their family (including their pets) and was glad to hear when the responses were “things are going well.”

Mom liked to talk about when she was younger.  How she loved her childhood, how she grew so close with her sister and how loving her parents were.  What many of you may not know about our Mom is that when she was young, she had a modeling portfolio, she loved horseback riding, ice skating, and Elvis!!

When our Mom lost the love of her life, her “rock “and her best friend she was devastated, and her world shaken to the core.  We thought it may break her.  On the contrary she found her inner strength and persevered.  She began taking control of her life with things that my dad always did and that we thought she would never take on like banking, investments, repairs and becoming an independent woman.

Many of you knew our Mom in your own way and probably have many stories to share that maybe we don’t even know about but would love to hear.  However, to us she was our Mom!!  The loss of a Mom is monumental.  A pain that is indescribable.  She is the person who raised us, took care of us when we were sick, comforted us when things did not go well.  If we were facing a challenge, we did not believe we could handle, our Mom was there to say we could do anything.  She is the person we called several times a day just to chat, talked about new candle scents on Bath and Body Works and loved watching Hallmark Channel.  Lisa especially shared the love for all the Christmas shows with her and could not wait to talk about them with her the next day.

No words can express the pain and heartbreak of losing her and how much we loved her.  We will miss her.  Goodbye Mom, we love you dearly and were blessed to have you as our Mom.  May you rest peacefully now with Dad at your side.