Maria A Fricke

Born September 9, 1952 to the late Joseph and Angela Amato, Maria was a lifelong resident of Union City. She attended Holy Rosary grammar school and high school before attending St. Peter’s College for undergraduate work, followed by earning a Master’s degree in Mathematics from Steven’s Institute of Technology in Hoboken, where she met her husband, David Fricke.

She worked as a COBOL computer programmer for Block Drug in Jersey City for many years, followed by a brief stint at Horizon Cruises in Weehawken. While at Horizon, she was awarded a 9/11 ribbon by the US Coast Guard for helping organize the evacuation of NJ residents from Manhattan.

She was deeply involved with The Park Theatre’s Passion Play in Union City, along with her husband David. For over 30 years she assumed many roles and responsibilities in The Passion Play including acting, stage management, prop mistress, and also participated in the rewrite of the script. She was briefly the secretary of Secaucus Dance Arts, a dance studio owned by her best friend, Meryl Tanner. A fan of Star Trek since she was a teenager, she was part of many fan clubs, and she and her husband became members of the USS Justice chapter of the Starfleet international fan group of which she was the editor of their newsletter.

She is survived by her devoted husband David, her best friend Meryl Tanner-Hill and her husband Joshua Tanner-Hill, her godson Jacob Lappin and his wife, her sister-in-law, her nieces and her grand nieces and nephew.

Maria’s life celebration will include visiting on Tuesday, January 13 from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at the Mack Memorial/ Leber Funeral Home, 1245 Paterson Plank Road, Secaucus, NJ.

A funeral mass will be offered on Wednesday, January 14 at 10:00 am at St. Lawrence Church, 22 Hackensack Ave., Weehawken, NJ. Friends and family may begin gathering at 9:00 am Wednesday morning at the funeral home before the mass. Maria will be laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery, 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington, NJ.

For those desiring, please consider donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.