Obituaries

Old Monmouth Garden Club Member Dies at 88

Services for former Freehold resident Sara Rose (Dolly) Pizzulli will begin on Tuesday, March 12.

Sara Rose (Dolly) Pizzulli, 88, of Howell, died on Saturday, March 9 at CentraState Medical Center. She was born to the late Dominick Sammarco and Rose Crispo Sammarco on October 23, 1924, in Asbury Park, NJ and had lived in Neptune and Freehold before moving to Howell 8 years ago.

Pizzulli graduated from Asbury Park High School and Newark State College. She obtained her Masters of Science in Education from Monmouth University. Pizzulli taught kindergarten at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School from 1959-1972 and First Grade at Wanamassa School from 1972 until she retired in 1994. 

She was passionate about her students and always very happy when she ran into one of them in the community, never forgetting a former pupil’s name, even after 35 years as an educator. Sara was an avid gardener and a member of the Old Monmouth Garden Club. Her rose garden was beautiful and a great source of pride to her.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pizzulli was predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Joseph (Kelly) Pizzulli and their son, Louis; her sister, Eleanor Villani; and two brothers Anthony D. Sammarco and Dr. Carl G. Sammarco. Sara is survived by a daughter, Donna and her husband, J.R. Emmanuelli, and their daughter, Dania Emmanuelli-Pizzulli;  a sister, Delores and her husband Pasquale G. D’Esposito; sisters-in-law, Onny Sammarco and Laura Sammarco, and  several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit the family at their residence in Freehold on Tuesday, March 12 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend her funeral mass at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 805 Pine Street, Asbury Park.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Interment will follow at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Neptune. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in her memory to the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice, 176 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701. For information, directions, or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here