Kathryn E. Licata

Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 17, 1938, Kathy was the daughter of Anthony and Adele (Abbaleo) Russo and was predeceased by her brothers Daniel and Frank. Kathy grew up in a joyous household in Brooklyn with a large extended family of many cousins, aunts and uncles. Throughout her life, she lived in Queens, NY, and Chatham, NJ, before moving to Livingston.

It was in Brooklyn where she met the love of her life Joseph Licata. They were married on June 27, 1959 and were together for 61 years before Joe’s passing in November 2020.

Kathy’s hobbies and endeavors were always centered around her family, friends and her volunteer work which was vast.

Kathy always loved a party and always enjoyed getting together with her friends. When she was not out to dinner or traveling with her beloved husband, Joe, she loved spending time surrounded by her beautiful grandchildren. She took great pride in her involvement at the Columbus Citizens Foundation, working with the Ladies Auxiliary Club as both Treasurer and President. She met some of her closest friends through the Foundation, and she and Joe filled their calendar with social events there in their later years. Kathy also took great pride in her Italian heritage, and she and Joe loved to share their families’ stories and history with their grandchildren.

Kathy was cherished by her vast network of friends, seeing them weekly for dinners and discussions of life’s events. Class and dignity were the two words to describe Kathy. Kathy’s extended family played a significant and joyous role in her life. She shared great times with the cousins she grew up with in Brooklyn and stayed close to them throughout their lives. Kathy will be remembered for her love of life, quick wit and always being ready for a good time.

Kathy is survived by her beloved sons Joseph and his wife, Carol of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, and Christopher and his wife, Kristin, of Tewksbury, New Jersey and her 7 beloved and most cherished grandchildren, Alexander(Kathryn), Olivia, Sofia, Ariana, CJ, Joseph and Talia, and great grandson Jack.

A celebration mass is planned for Tuesday August 6th at 10 AM at Corpus Christi Church in Chatham, New Jersey and burial to follow at St Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Joseph and Kathryn Licata scholarship fund at Archbishop Molloy High School.