Obituary of Alicia Haines Ragonese

Alicia Haines Ragonese, of Morris Plains, New Jersey, passed away on January 3. 

Born on May 2, 1949, in Queens, New York, Alicia lived a life defined by devotion, resilience, and love. She grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, which is where she found her love for the water, often talking about looking out over the Long Island Sound. After grammar school, Alicia was sent to the prestigious Eden Hall Convent School in Torresdale, Pennsylvania where she met incredible lifelong friends. 

With a strong desire to be a successful business woman, in a “Mad Men’s World,” she traded the comforts of her family home in Manhasset for the streets of Manhattan working as an Executive Secretary in the top floors of the Empire State Building, where she met her best friends Maureen Fallon, Laurie Carmody and Wendy McColgan (friend for 57 years). 

In 1976, she took a chance and enrolled at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, where this New York girl bumped into a man from West Milford, New Jersey, who was looking to be the next hot radio DJ. Unbeknownst to her, she had just met her future husband of whom she would spend the next 46 years of her life with. 

Alicia was a beloved wife, a proud mother, adoring grandmother, a cherished aunt, cousin, and a fierce friend to many. 

Alicia spent 46 years alongside her husband Larry. As best friends, they shared a love of travel, movies, Broadway and of course their growing family. Her children Nicole (Nikki) and Kyle, were her pride and joy, until her five beautiful grandchildren were born. Then that love spread to those little ones who affectionately called her “Amma”. 

She had a tremendous heart, always making room for everyone, from family and friends, to the many charities she regularly supported. Her generosity had no end.

Alicia is survived by her husband, Larry, her loving children, Nicole Sedlak and her husband John, and Kyle Ragonese and his wife Francesca, as well as her adoring grandchildren, James, Felicity, Natalie, Charlotte, and Emily. Additionally, she is survived by her sisters, Sheila Sharpe and Marcia Slattery, and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and lifelong friends who will miss her tremendously. She is predeceased by her mother and father, Elizabeth and Charles Haines and her in-laws, Ben and Helen Ragonese. 

Visitation will take place on Thursday, January 15 from 5:00 - 8:00 PM at Dangler Funeral Home in Morris Plains, New Jersey, with a funeral mass taking place on Friday, January 16, at 10:30 AM at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. 

As a woman steadfast in her love for others, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity or cause of your choice in her name. 

To know her was to love her. Remember her name and on her birthday, May 2, do something positive in her memory. That way we can continue her legacy of love and care.