Theresa Arre Racanelli

Known to many as Terry & Aunt Tootsie, her favorite name to be called was “Gram or Grammy” by her grandsons.

Born in Newark, NJ to Patsy & Assunta (DePalma), Theresa graduated from St. Lucy’s Grammar School & Central HS in Newark.

As a young girl, she worked at Arre’s Bakery, a family owned business, first behind the counter selling bread & cakes, later delivering bread, & finally in the office as a bookkeeper.

Later on in life, she became a comptroller for Walsh Bros. Trucking Company in Newark for 23 years. After retirement from Walsh Bros., she worked 19 years for Access Rentals in Harrison as a bookkeeper.

Theresa was a lifelong parishioner of St. Lucy’s Church where she was also a volunteer for over 35 years at the Feast of St. Gerard & a member of the Rosary Society.

In 1972, she moved to Kearny and married her Grammar school crush, Joe Racanelli, with whom she has been married 46 years.

Theresa was happiest at her big family get-togethers, watching her grandsons play their sports, travelling, playing poker & visiting all the casinos she could throughout the years.

She was predeceased by her parents, her brothers Dannie (Connie) & Peter (Lorine) Arre & a sister Nancy Arre.

She is survived by her best friend & husband Joe, beloved daughter Patricia (Pisapia) Rigas & her husband Andrew Rigas, 4 precious grandsons, Andrew (Bella), Nicholas (Brianna), Vincent & Thomas, dear sisters Marie Travisano & Ann Connolly (Chuck) and many, many nieces, nephews, & friends.

Theresa was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, & a good friend to many.

Visitation will be held at the LaMonica Memorial Home, 145 E. Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Livingston on Friday, September 24, 2021 from 4-8 pm. The Funeral Mass will be offered at St. Lucy’s Church on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 10:30 am followed by the Entombment in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sisters of St. John the Baptist 150 Anderson Hill Rd. Purchase, NY 10577 or St. Lucy’s Church 118 Seventh Avenue Newark, NJ 07104.