Florence Husni Cerreto

Florence Husni Cerreto (Flo) (Pinky), 90, Midlothian, VA formally of Edison, NJ died Tuesday, August 14, 2018. Florence was born March 25, 1928 at Sloan Kettering Hospital, NY to Saleem Younis Husni and Shafeka (Sophia) Nershi Husni. She grew up in Weehawken, NJ, and on June 28, 1952 married the love of her life Jack Cerreto, husband for 66 years. Graduated from Jersey City College with a BA in Elementary Education. New Jersey first grade teacher for 30 years. Catholic, life-long Democrat, and Teacher of the Year. Florence was a storyteller, family chef, avid reader, sudoku champ, loved politics, knitting, sewing, quilting, and painting. Preceded in death by parents Saleem and Sophia, brother Saleem (Sam) Husni, and sister Violet Husni Neuschulz. Survived by husband Jack Cerreto and children Giacomo Cerreto, Felicia and Richard Ross, Lee and Peggy Cerreto, Stephen Cerreto, and Katherine Cerreto. Grandchildren Kirsten Hitson, Philip Cerreto, John Cerreto, Andrew Steele, Katherine Ross, Stephanie Ross, Christopher Cerreto, Connor Steele and Thomas Cerreto, and great-grand child Jack Hitson. Sister Lily Husni Becker and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and life-long friends. A memorial mass will be held for Florence Husni Cerreto on August 31, 2018 at 10:30am at St. Edward’s Catholic Church, 2700 Dolfield Drive, North Chesterfield, VA 23235. In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Florence Husni Cerreto can be made to Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/find/#!/mimed/cvc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Her life was a large communal table. In the kitchen of a cramped, third floor apartment in 1930’s Weehawken, NJ, a stone’s throw from New York City, sat a small kitchen table. It was made of dark oak, rectangular, with wear from many evictions and moves. The legs were loose which made it feel slightly unsteady. It’s thick top was heavy and firm. Around this table, young Florence Husni first learned about life, family, and love. Every kitchen table throughout her long life continued to represent what she held most dear. They represented how she welcomed people into her life and fed them in ways that created deep feelings of belonging. Her life was a large communal table and she was the heavy, firm top that supported us all. As the youngest of four children born of poor, Syrian immigrants, her early life was hard and unpredictable. But around their kitchen table, young Florence found security in small, everyday experiences that shaped her life for 90 years. Around the kitchen table, she first learned to read and discover the joy of story telling. She learned about love as she and her mother Sophia rolled stuffed grape leaves as the smell of lamb filled the air. She learned creativity as she and her sisters sewed clothing on the kitchen table covered in fabric for her father’s garment business. She learned to sacrifice by working jobs to pool the family’s nickels and dimes to help put meat on the table. She learned about keeping families close as her large extended family gathered for meals, laughter, and the occasional belly dancer. She learned about accepting others by having to sleep in the same bed with her two, older sisters and fighting bed bugs together. Communal Heart of Others In Her Life The spirit of the communal table was also present in the hearts of people who helped Florence during her early years. For instance, she was so poor that she didn't own a toothbrush until her third grade teacher bought her one. She appreciated the teacher’s kind heart her whole life. When a elementary school play was approaching and girls were buying new dresses, she felt embarrassed that her family could not afford one. She came home the day before the play to discover that her mother made her a dress from leftover pieces of fabric. She beamed with pride on stage. When she first started teaching, her father-in-law left a rose on her car seat every morning to send her off with a smile. His daily expression of love warmed her heart during the long drives to work. Life Opens Up Florence’s father, Saleem, instilled a strong commitment to education in his children in an era when few children (especially daughters) of immigrants graduated from college and graduate programs. After World War II, Florence worked to pay her way through Jersey City State to earn a degree in education. College life opened up a new world for her. While she was very active as a cheerleader and basketball player, she made life-long friends who married each other and dedicated their lives to educating children. Her nickname to her college friends was Pinky. Her life was transformed forever on a Fall afternoon in 1948 when she entered the student lounge to meet friends at a corner table. She noticed a handsome, dark haired young man with broad shoulders. She was attracted to his smile and ease. She could'nt take her eyes off of this slightly older man who just returned from the war. She leaned over to a girlfriend and pointed to the stranger across the room and whispered “I am going to marry him one day.” And she did and remained married for 66 years. She discovered that his name was Jack Cerreto, a handsome Italian from Kearny, NJ, and she made sure they ran into each other on campus. They became inseparable. He loved her humor, happiness, work ethic, and love for him. She loved his caring, strength, maturity, and love for her. They were destine to eventually find each other at that very moment in 1948. He once told a story about how their college friends decided to go on a picnic. The women made the lunches. “The other women made elaborate picnic food but Mom and I didn't have much money so she made a few bologna sandwiches on white bread. It didn't matter to us. We enjoyed each other so much. That was and always has been enough.” They were destined. After Florence grew ill before her death, Jack would say in his grief “She taught me how to love.” Imagine for a moment the power of that statement. Almost 70 years after that picnic, they could still look across a crowded room at each other and feel like they are the only two people in the room. We saw this connection well into their 90s as they would sometimes snuggle alone at the kitchen table during crowded Sunday dinners talking and laughing with each other. They were destined. They taught each other how to love. Florence and Jack would randomly start dancing when they heard a song they liked. Jack said that “It was a perfect excuse to hug her,” as if he ever really needed one to begin with. Florence loved a good hug, and a good dance. Spreading The Love Florence and Jack had four children, Giacomo, Felicia, Lee, and Stephen, while living in a four and a half room apartment in his parents’ home in Kearny, NJ. Growing up, Florence never lived in a house and her family was repeatably evicted as a child. Her strongest desire was to save enough money to buy a home for their growing family. She saved every penny she could from her teaching job and Jack's two jobs teaching and working at a startup retail store called Two Guys. Florence and Jack eventually got what they desired. The family bought a home in Edison, NJ and, shortly after, she gave birth to a daughter, Katherine, who represented for Florence the symbol of a new beginning for the whole family. The house was fully paid off. It was her own. Sometimes she would get out of the car, look up at her house, and say out loud “It’s my house.” She raised her children from toddlers to adults around a large, circular kitchen table. The family ate every meal together, laughing, crying, debating, and sharing delicious Syrian and Italian meals. Her home was filled with family, neighbors, friends, and colleagues. No crowd was too big to fit around her table and under her roof. She even enjoyed the neighborhood volleyball games in her driveway as a time to laugh and have fun with parents and kids. Life with Florence was a constant flow of vivid stories and food. She was a natural story teller who loved to build a story’s scene, plot, and punch line to entertain, enthrall, and teach. Every story had to start from the beginning. If we interrupted her, she would start from the beginning again because she loved a well told tale. We learned not to interrupt. She would often laugh uncontrollably while telling a story from the anticipation of the punch line. It was hysterical watching her laugh at the enjoyment of her own stories. Her silent laughing was often the funnest moments to watch. Her face and spirit in laughter is the family’s most enduring image of Florence. She was a truly happy, joyful woman. Her stories are our stories now, told around our own kitchen tables. Florence loved creating special moments for her family and friends. The enjoyment of food around a kitchen table was at the heart of those moments. She loved to cook. It represented caring to her. Her favorite time was sitting around a table filled with food and her family. If she offered us a side dish during a meal, we learned to say “yes” even if we didn't want it. If we refused, she would ask us why, if we didn't like it, or if we ate already. If we successfully held firm on our “no”, we would find the side dish slowly and covertly pushed in our direction as the meal progressed. She orchestrated this scene with humor and joy like a comedian working an audience. She was just so funny. Florence taught first grade for 30 years and raised her five children while Jack traveled, building a chain of retail stores into over 200 locations in the North East with 18,000 employees. They were a great team and great teachers for their five children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grand child. Her grandchildren and great-grand child called her Tay-Tah (Grandmother in Syrian) She won Teacher of the Year in Edison Township and was a union representative looking out for the wellbeing of her fellow teachers. She said that she taught first grade because she loved teaching children how to read for the first time because it opened up their lives. Her career was one big communal table of people she professionally cared about in life. Before and after retirement, Florence was an accomplished folk art painter and quilter. Her art and quilts adorn many homes and have a home-spun feeling that elicits warmth, family, and humor. She made highly personalized quilts for every family member and, in her spare time, knitted little wool hats and booties for premature babies at the local hospital. Florence was a life-long Democrat and loved a good political debate. She would jokingly lament “Where did I go wrong?” when any of her children voted Republican. She once said that she would vote for Micky Mouse if he was the only Democrat on the ballot. We learned never to call or drop by between 5:00 and 8:00 each night when she was watching her favorite news show and learning about the politics of the day. Her Legacy Fulfilled When Florence turned 90 and Jack 95, they were healthy and happy in the fullness of their lives; a life lived as a communal table for their family. When we would argue as kids, she would scold us saying“You better learn how to get along because the only people you can count on in life is your family. You will only have each other.” When Florence suddenly grew ill and quickly declined, Jack and her entire family stood by her side day and night. In her final moments, we surrounded her, held her and each other in deep sadness that no words in the English language can capture. At that very moment, before taking her final breath, she felt us all together with her and each other. Her legacy was complete for her family and herself. We held each other and she held us to the end. Florence Husni Cerreto died on August 14, 2018. A truly great woman has left this earth. Her spirit remains in her family, friends, students, colleagues, and her beloved husband Jack. Thank you Mom. We miss you so much and always will. We will never fear death because you will be on the other side welcoming us with your arms open wide and the word “Kifak” (“How are you my honey.”) on your lips