Colleen DeLuca left this world in peace and with love on October 10, 2021, with her beloved husband David by her side holding her hand. Her six children and ten grandchildren were with her too, each having the opportunity to, for one last time in the physical sense, share with her the many blessings they received simply because she was theirs.
Colleen’s family was her greatest achievement, and she would tell you so herself. Having met David when in Washingtonville High School in Washingtonville, New York, they were acknowledged soulmates from the start. Their first years together were spent at Bucknell University where they had many adventures most specifically, the start of their family with the birth of their first three children, David Vincent, Jennifer Colleen and Jonathan Robert. While David worked through a double major and a minor in school, Colleen began establishing the many traditions and memory-making events that have become a part of so many individual lives.
Shortly thereafter, David’s dream of taking flight came true, and Colleen was more than proud to stand by her husband as the start of his lifelong career as a pilot in the United States Air Force unfolded. It was also during this new journey that their daughter Kathryn Francesca was born. It would be another eight years before the last two DeLuca siblings, Sara Vittoria and Alessondra Teresa, joined and finished what many refer to as the united DeLuca clan.
Colleen rooted herself in her Roman Catholic faith, raising her family to know and love God confidently, and with deep conviction. She practiced her religious beliefs dutifully, studying and receiving her fully-vested vows as a Secular Order Carmelite Nun, with an innate ability to share our Lord’s love and compassion. She comforted so many through discussion, insight, and advice. Colleen was a parishioner, at her beloved Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church in Berlin, NJ where she was the Mother Superior of the parish’s Carmelite Society.
Everyone who met Colleen was deeply touched by her. Perhaps it was her shared joy and laughter that influenced their demeanor; or maybe it was her nurturing, motherly character. She had coined the name Mama Leeny by David’s best friends in college (Pete, Howie, and Dave), and carried that title well beyond the childhood years of her children with many friends, both hers and her kids’, stopping by at a moment’s notice looking for Mama Leeny and a bite of the freshly baked homemade goods she always had on hand.
You cannot reflect on Colleen without immediately thinking of her smile or her laughter; and some may instantly be brought to reminiscing on a kind gesture she shared, a prayer or rosary she offered, the just because card she sent, the thoughtful gift she gifted, or even just in thinking of her love of all things crafting.
But if you truly know Colleen then, your mind will be brought directly to her shared memories of the start of her family; the states travelled; the milestones her children made; and the genuine pride she had in standing next to the man she called her husband of 44 years. Even more so, you would know her heart through her love of and for her grandchildren, Victoria Genevieve, Dominic Salvatore, Zachary Giovanni, Hannah Mackenzie, Emma Josephine, Analeis Cecilia, Garrett Eli, Sicily Teresa, Elizabeth Anne, and Oliver Vincent.
Colleen’s passing has left an emptiness in the lives she has touched. She will forever be loved, she will forever be missed, and she will forever be celebrated. As a Catholic, you devote your life to the worship of God; and, in passing into the arms of our Lord, you become a Saint. It is believed without compromise by the DeLuca family that Colleen’s sainthood is established.
Family and friends are invited to her viewing on Sunday October 17 from 6-8 PM and Monday October 18 from 9-10:30 AM at Mater Ecclesiae RC Church, 261 Cross Keys Road, Berlin, NJ 08009-9431, where Requiem Mass will be offered in the Extraordinary Form at 11 AM. Burial St. Joseph's Cemetery, Chews Landing, NJ. Following burial, friends are invited back to Mater Ecclesiae for a catered luncheon with the family.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to Mater Ecclesiae RC Church would be deeply appreciated and may be sent to the address above or at www.materecclesiae.org.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace; and may the divine assistance remain always with us and bring us unto life everlasting. Amen.
Fertig Funeral Home
