Obituary of Margaret H. Rufolo

Margaret “Peggy” Rufolo (nee Kasten), 94, formerly of Florham Park, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on July 20, 2021 in Shenandoah, Texas.

Peggy spent her childhood on 57th Road in Maspeth, Queens where she met Ralph, her husband of 73 years. Although she married into an Italian family, Peggy never forgot her Irish roots. She was known to proudly flaunt her Saint Patrick’s Day scarf and constantly reminded her children and grandchildren that they were “half Irish.”  

As a young bride, Peggy began her lifetime of sacrifices, leaving her family behind in Maspeth to accompany Ralph wherever his job took them. After living in five states over the span of eight years, they settled down in Florham Park where they lived happily for 50 years. It wasn’t until her youngest child went to school that Peggy went to work at Loehmann’s down the street from their home on Dawn Court. She purposely stayed close to home so she could keep doing all the things for her children that she did before she went to work.  Peggy didn’t skip a beat at home and she achieved great success at her job, becoming the first female Store Manager in the company’s history. Although Peggy ran a tight ship, she earned a reputation among the staff for fairness, lovingness and compassion.  

Throughout her life, Peggy’s greatest source of joy were her children and grandchildren and her favorite pastime was being in their presence. She was a long-standing proud (and loud) fan in the bleachers at Hanover Park High School for games and wrestling matches, she relished having her family around the kitchen table for Sunday homemade sauce and meatballs, and jumped on every opportunity to babysit her grandchildren. Peggy exemplified faithfulness, unconditional love, grace, humility, integrity and perseverance and was a role model for all who loved her.  We were blessed and so very proud to call her “mom” and “nanny” and her spirit will live on in all of us.

Peggy was predeceased by her husband Ralph, parents Mary and William, her brothers Jack and Bill, and sister Eileen. She is survived by her brother Donald, six children Susan (Dave), Mark (Kathy), Kathie, Rick (Gina), Jeff (Laura Beth), and Lisa, seventeen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend a memorial visitation from 1:00PM to 4:00PM on Sunday, August 1, 2021 held at the Madison Memorial Home, 159 Main Street, Madison. A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:00AM on Monday, August 2, 2021 at Holy Family Church, 1 Lloyd Avenue, Florham Park, NJ 07932.