Amy Jill Kalieta

Amy is survived by her husband, Mark Cowen; son Andrew Kalieta; and son Kristopher Kalieta; sister Beth (Dr. Edward) Julie-Wayne, NJ and sister Mindy (Carl) Offit-Hillsborough, NJ.

Amy was preceded in death by her parents: Robert and Paula Sheffler.

A funeral service will occur Friday, July 20, 2018 10:00 AM at Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels, 44 Wilson Avenue, Manalapan, NJ 07726. A committal service will occur Friday, July 20, 2018 at Mt. Sinai of Marlboro Cemetery, 361 Route #79, Marlboro, NJ 07746.

The Period of Mourning will be observed at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Edward Julie , Friday thru Wednesday beginning 3:00PM with Minyans at 7:45 PM . In addition at the residence of Mindy and Carl Offit, Sunday thru Wednesday from 2:00PM to 4:00PM and 7:00PM with minyan services.

"In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke." Checks should be made payable to Tisch Brain Tumor Center and sent to Tisch Brain Tumor Center, DUMC Box 3642, Durham,NC 27710 or to the Jewish National Fund or the ASPCA

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bloomfieldcoopermanalapan.com for the Kalieta family.

Eulogy from Mindy:

Eulogy for Amy

When I finally sat down to write this tribute to Amy, it was as if I was in suspended animation. It all seems so unreal to me and I am sure to all of you.

First of all, I want to thank you all for being here and for being so very special to Amy. She loved her time with you. You kept her smiling and happy. I can assure you all, Amy loved each one of you. You brought so much love into her life. I also want to thank all of you who helped drive Amy to her appointments and radiation. I especially want to thank Frank, who became Amy’s personal chauffeur. I don’t know what we would have done without you. You made yourself available whenever Mark and Amy reached out to you for help

I must tell you that writing this was the hardest thing I have ever done. There is no possible way to convey Amys strength, courage, and true love of life. I never encountered any one like her. She was an inspiration.

Amy's beauty radiated both from the inside and outside. She constantly found the good in people. She always had a beautiful smile and her smile and personality could fill a room. There was a beautiful spark in her eyes. She enjoyed and embraced life.

Amy was fun, bright, ecstatically happy, brave and strong. She was determined and succeeded in living her life to the fullest, enjoying each moment. She refused to let cancer rob her of one moment. She would wake up every morning, go outside, hold her prayer stone, thanking G-d for another day.

Amy was 6 years younger then me. I remember the day she came home from the hospital and holding her in my arms. I couldn't wait to tell my friends I had a new baby sister. Even as a baby, Amy always had that wonderful smile. She had a penchant for walking around naked and was known to run around the front yard without clothes. With her beautiful curly hair and adorable face she could get away with anything.

Amy never talked about being ill, or complained about not being able to travel out of the country and working, which she loved. Amy learned to accept her disabilities, so much so that she told my husband, after her spinal surgery which rendered her unable to walk, that she could learn to live with that or anything else as long as she lived.

Words could never describe how much I will miss her. Life will never be the same. Amy left me with so many happy memories including a weekend trip to Atlantic City, all expenses paid. We had massages, ate and drank continuously, and danced in the aisles at a Lionel Richie concert. She told me that it was one of the best weekends of her life, it certainly was one of mine. Amy came to visit me when I lived in Israel, where she captured the heart of my then boyfriend, leaving me the third wheel. Most of all, I will remember her spending weekends with Carl and me doing a really complicated jigsaw puzzle. When we were almost done, Carl discovered there was a piece missing. That missing piece will always be a piece of Amy’s heart.

Amy's generosity and thoughtfulness were abundant. Everytime she came to my home or had friends and family to her home, she went out of her way to make sure there was an abundance of food, enough for double the amount of people she was expecting. She accommodated everyones dietary needs. That was our Amy girl. Every gift she gave was selected especially for the recipient with the utmost thought and consideration of what they would enjoy.

Amy was blessed to meet Mark several years ago. Their love for each other was abundant. Mark proposed and married Amy 8 months after her cancer diagnosis. He was totally devoted to Amy, and made her the priority in his life

Most importantly, Amy's sons, Kristopher and Andrew were the loves of her life. She was always so proud of them and would give anything to make sure they were content and happy. They were devoted sons and spent the last year and a half by their mothers side.

Amy, I send you off to join mom and dad, but always remember, if you need me call me. I will be listening for your voice. I made sure that you had the last emoji and no, you are not as fat as the woman on my 600 pound life.

In Amys memory, I ask each one of you to perform acts of kindness, forgive completely and unconditionally and remember live life like Amy, with joy and contentment. Don’t take a moment for granted.