Obituary of Susan Melino

We mourn the passing of our beloved mother, Nana, aunt, sister & friend, Susan Melino, who died April 5, 2025, surrounded by family and friends. Susan was born September 25, 1947 to Frank X & Helen Slocum of Marion Avenue in Staten Island. Sue was the youngest of three daughters including her sisters Ellen and Marianne (Mim). A nickname, Suebelle, given by her father, lasted her whole life.

She followed her sisters to Our Lady of Good Counsel School, then Notre Dame Academy where she was Captain of the cheer-leading squad, then Saint Vincent’s School of Nursing. Sue had a never-ending desire to learn and went on to achieve multiple degrees including a Bachelor degree from Marymount-Manhattan College; a Master degree from Russel Sage College; a Master degree and an APN-C Nurse Practitioner degree from Wagner College; and most recently, a post-Master degree in Psychiatric Mental Health from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She applied her education to her career and became a professor while also holding multiple

Psychiatric Nursing leadership positions at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York and Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ. She led hundreds of nurses and was responsible for the care of thousands of patients. Sue made incredible friendships both in school and at work, and cherished them for her entire life. After retiring, Susan relocated to Madison, NJ.

Her first marriage to Peter McGlynn of Manhasset, Long Island, produced the brightest light of her life: their daughter Jennifer. She later wed Dr. Albert Melino of Bronx, NY, a professor of psychology who predeceased Susan in 2003.

Susan is survived by her beloved daughter Jennifer McGlynn Herring & her equally beloved son-in-law, Christopher, and their children, her grandsons, Matthew & Connor, who were truly “her guys.” Also surviving is her loving sister, Marianne Smith and brother-in-law Eugene, and their children, her godchild Erin Smith and nephew Sean Smith; and nephew Andrew Gabbett and wife Amanda; and her longtime companion Dr. Sheldon (Shelly) Blackman. She is predeceased by sister Ellen and Nephews, Michael Cadigan and Timothy Groves.

Suebelle was a lifelong golfer, a love she inherited from her Mom & Dad. For the last years of her life, she and Shelly tried to make par.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the visitation for Susan to be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Madison Memorial Home, 159 Main Street, Madison.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at St. Vincent Martyr Church, 26 Green Village Road, Madison.

Cremation will be held privately for the family.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org or the National Audubon Society at audubon.org.