Gloria Wood

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Former Staten Islander Gloria Wood , 81, of Manalapan, N.J., a dedicated homemaker who loved to cook, died Tuesday in Freehold (N.J.) Manor Assisted Living, where she had resided for about two months.

Born Gloria Pizzurro in Brooklyn, she grew up there and graduated from Girls Commercial High School. She lived in her native borough until 2000, when she moved to Richmond. She relocated to New Jersey in 2006.

Mrs. Wood loved to cook. She most enjoyed making "Cousin Jack pasties," a version of traditional Cornish pasties. She also liked to watch television programs, especially mysteries, late at night.

Her husband of 52 years, Broudia, died in 2000. She also was preceded in death by her son, Joseph, in 1979.

Surviving are her son, Broudia; her sister Helen Benz, and a grandchild.

The funeral service will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners. Burial will follow in Long Island National Cemetery, Wyandanch.