Irene Christine Ricci, age 81 years, of Hillsborough, NJ, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

Born on Valentine’s Day in 1941, daughter of the late Frank and Emilia (Piegdon) Prasnal, Irene was raised in Elizabeth, NJ, where she was a 1958 graduate of Battin High School. She would later attend Burroughs School of Business Machines in Newark, NJ, where she learned typing, shorthand and stenography.

Putting those skills to good use throughout her career, Irene enjoyed a thirty-four year long tenure working for the Hillsborough Township, NJ, municipal government. She served in the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment and Recreation Department and thoroughly enjoyed her time helping her fellow neighbors.

In March of 1962, she started her life with her husband of sixty years, Salvatore Ricci, living first in Elizabeth and later Rahway, NJ, before settling in Hillsborough in 1970. A former longtime parishioner of Mary Mother of God Church in Hillsborough, Irene was currently a communicant of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Three Bridges, NJ.

As a young child and into adulthood, she was a member of the Elizabeth Girl’s Nest 115, Polish Falcons of America, and also attended Polish Falcons Camp during her childhood summers. It was at camp that she met her lifelong friend, Rich, who later became best friends with her husband, Sal, and an uncle and role model to their children. Fondly known as, “Uncle Porkroll”, the antics shared and memories made with Rich made Irene and the entire family smile long after his untimely passing.

Proud of her Polish ancestry, Irene had strong ties to her family and their rich cultural traditions.  Every holiday and family celebration was full of traditional Polish food and music, much of which was cooked by Irene and her mother, who happily taught several of the secrets to her daughters. Additionally, she was proud of her ability to speak Polish fluently, and would demonstrate it regularly whether you could speak it or not!

Living each day to its fullest, Irene lived to love and have a good time wherever she was at; be it a family gathering or a night out with close friends in the neighborhood, she simply enjoyed being with people. Square dancing with Sal and friends at “Hillbilly Hall”, playing bridge, or just spending hours talking and enjoying the company of others made Irene happy. At family functions it was typical to see her and her brother or husband involved in some ‘polka’ing’, usually accompanied by some accordion playing. She also enjoyed ceramics, playing softball, and dining out with friends.

Raising her own young family in a neighborhood of young families, Irene had many parties for the neighborhood kids and those gatherings were just as fun as the adult get togethers; she was always eager to dress up in a costume for Halloween with Sal and couldn’t wait to be out on the dance floor doing the ‘Chicken Dance’, with or without anyone else! This neighborhood was truly a community of “one family”, and was a special place for the entire Ricci family.

Staying grounded in faith, Irene was a very selfless and generous soul, willing to help and support many people throughout her life. She and Sal unselfishly provided housing to siblings, cousins, and friends to help them when they needed it. She welcomed young people from broken families to her home (part of her friend Rich’s vocation), visited her mother-in law regularly when she was ill and in long-term care, looked after her parents as they aged, and of course, provided for and helped her children in any way that she could.

Her love extended to animals as well, as there was an abundance of space for any animal that needed some TLC in Irene’s heart. She greatly enjoyed caring for animals and took care of many different types over the years, treating them as part of the family and loving each and every one of them.  Her pets included dogs, cats, horses, and rabbits just to name a few.

A large portion of the love in Irene’s world was directed at and shared with her husband, Sal. She and Sal shared a beautiful sixty-year marriage together and as devoted as Sal was to her, she was equally devoted to him. Together they had three children, Sal, Sheryl and Serena, and raised them in a way that reflected their strong values of family and faith. Her love extended down the generations and she was so proud to be a Grandmother and Great Grandmother; she truly would, and did anything and everything for her children and grandchildren.

This woman with a heart of gold will be forever remembered for the sacrifices made for her family and friends, and her tender comfort of all things on this Earth. To honor Irene, is to be kind to all people and creatures, and to live each moment as fully as possible.

In addition to her parents, Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Sal; her brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Janet Prasnal; and her mother-in-law and father-in law, Mary and Michael Ricci.

She will be deeply missed by her loving children, Sal and his wife, Jennifer Ricci, Sheryl and her husband, Nick Pellitta, and Serena Collado. She will also be greatly missed by her nine grandchildren, Allie Heller and her husband, Rob Heller, Nicholas Pellitta, Jillian Ricci, Julia Collado, David Pellitta, Olivia Ricci, Gabrielle Ricci, Alec Collado, and Michael Collado, and one great grandchild, Delainey Heller. She will also be missed by her many other relatives and friends, along with her feline companions, Tarzan and Jane.

Irene will lie in repose on Sunday, February 5, 2023, from 3:00-5:00 p.m., with family eulogies at 4:45 p.m., in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. There will be an additional period of visitation on Monday, February 6, 2023, from 8:30-9:00 a.m., at the funeral home. Everyone is respectfully requested to wear a face covering during the gathering at the funeral home.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Rev. Edmund Luciano, will take place Monday, February 6, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 105 Summer Street, Three Bridges, NJ.

Interment will follow mass in the family plot at St. Magdalen Cemetery, North Main Street, Flemington, NJ, and to which all are welcome.

Realizing that some may be unable to attend due to the pandemic, the Sunday afternoon family eulogies at the funeral home, as well as the Mass and graveside service, will be live-streamed, with the stream being active starting at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and 9:15 a.m. on Monday. To watch, please go back to main screen and click the PLAY button where you see the picture under Service, or, click HERE and kindly ensure you do not have a pop-up blocker enabled (if you are having issues with clicking above, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/event/2850548. Please note that the same link will be used for all three events, and you may need to refresh your browser between events depending on the technology you are using. 

You are encouraged to visit Irene’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Memorial contributions in her honor may be made to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, via mail to 575 Woodland Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940, or online by clicking HERE, or to the Alzheimer’s Association, via mail to 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601, or online by clicking HERE.

For those who wish to send flowers, please call Flemington Floral at 908-782-2219 or the Gilded Lily at 908-782-5459.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”