Wednesday, December 21, 2022
MY Friend Nonie,
Where can I start to recap our friendship of over 50 years? We met in Smiles in Oceanside Village when you asked me if I was Paul Zullo's mother. When I said yes you told me your were Kenny Muellers' mother. Well, we immediately started on the life's journey of our friendship from that moment!
Our boys were great pals starting in that kindergarten class and enjoyed wonderful play creating forts underneath the dining room table with blankets for walls. They made wonderful drawings and never had a harsh word. They grew to have careers in creative fields with Kenny as a Landscape Architect and Paul as a Professional Chef. Certainly Kenny had a ring-side seat to all things botanical from your wisdom and beautiful approach to all growing things. Even when you had Covid this hot summer you were telling me it gave you a chance to work in the garden as you were housebound!
We found ourselves busy with our families and involved with the PTA at Florence A. Smith school. One day you called to ask if I would like to become your assistant in the three year-old class you taught at St. Mark's Cooperative Nursery School in Rockville Center. I accepted and my daughter Susan became a member of Sally Neal's class and it became a wonderful adventure for each of us.
What an honor it was to work with you and learn from you as you became as much of a teacher to me in the wonderful world of Early Childhood Education as you were for the lucky children in your class. You and your sister Alice certainly leave a legacy which will be remembered by so many who were privileged to know you in these circles.
As you leave us in this Christmas season, I have been living down memory lane all these past weeks of your illness while baking the many wonderful cookies whose recipes you shared with me. To this day I still use the cooling rack that Peter made which you gave to me one Christmas and I can't imagine how many thousands of cookies were placed upon it over these many years! I was first introduced to these culinary delights on a Christmas Eve long ago when we stopped by your house on the way to Tony's parents' home not far from yours. Your home with its holiday finery and beautiful Advent Wreath above the dining room table was a delight to behold. Sharon, Peter, Brian and Kenny were excited with Christmas anticipation and Ted, ever the gracious host offering a Christmas drink and best wishes. Upon leaving, you handed me a plate of cookies wrapped in festive red tissue and when we opened it on Christmas Day I knew they were another example of your talents and generous nature. Yum! We loved the book "The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher" and you and your sister Alice (also having had a stellar career in early childhood education) could recite lines from this delightful tale! Not so long ago I was able to buy a copy for my children's book collection and I came to know that, of course, you had donated the book to St. Mark's when you left to go in to full time teaching.
As we worked in other places, through the years our friendship endured and we had many conversations covering so many subjects; books we had read, our spiritual journey, the state of the world, our sad times and glad times. We got together with Ted and Tony to enjoy many shows at Malloy theater, wonderful movie dates, fabulous Gelato treats at the diner and dinners in each other's homes. Ted always seemed to have at least one good joke to entertain us. Not all gal friendships can grow to include husbands but we were able to and were all the better for it. We all really looked forward to our times together.
More than 50 years of friendship cannot be captured in this tribute to you but my hope is that anyone reading this may come to know a glimmer of you the person, a gift to all who knew you and that your life enhanced ours.
Knowing the depth of my own loss, I can only reach out to Ted, Sharon, Peter, Brian and Kenny, their spouses and grandchildren--your beloved family--and give my heartfelt sympathy for your loss at this sad time.
So I bid you farewell my dear friend Nonie and I thank you for all the light you brought into my life. You will live on through the many memories I have but remain as just one of the many friends who knew and loved you too.
Kathy Zullo.
