Edgar H. Burton, father of priest and nun, dies
Edgar H. Burton, 85, of Vineland, the father of Msgr. John Burton and Sister Kathleen Burton, S.S.J., died Wednesday, March 17.
Born Aug. 8, 1924, he was the son of the late Harvey A. and Mamie (Washington) Burton.
Mr. Burton served in the U.S. Armed Forces from 1943-46; after he was wounded in combat, he received the Purple Heart. In 1944, he married Mary Raffaeli at Sacred Heart Church in Vineland.
During his younger years, he worked as a milkman for Shoemaker Dairies. In April 1978, he was hired by the city of Vineland as a building inspector, a position he held until his retirement in 1992.
Since his retirement, he worked summers for Tolotti’s Farms, taking samples to the Vineland Produce Auction.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary; his son, Msgr. Burton; his daughter, Sister Kathleen; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated last Tuesday morning, March 23 at St. Isidore Church, Vineland. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery.
Rose Catania, 103, remembered for volunteer work
Rose Catania, 103, a longtime resident of Glassboro and member of St. Bridget Parish there, serving as a greeter and as a member of the Altar and Rosary Society, died Monday, March 8 at Mater Dei Nursing Home in Newfield.
Born in Tripi, Sicily, she came to Philadelphia as a little girl, and, after attending school through grade eight, became a seamstress at Jacob Reed’s Sons, where she worked for 50 years until her retirement in 1971.
Moving to Glassboro in 1974, Catania began volunteering at St. Bridget’s, greeting people before Mass (an enjoyable job for her, as she loved all people) and, as a member of the Altar and Rosary society there, sewed baptismal bibs and performed other sewing work.
She also volunteered at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Washington Township as a gift shop clerk. In 2002, she received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the hospital for her service. She also loved shopping with girlfriends, playing bingo, and crocheting.
Catania is survived by her niece and caregiver, Joanne Laino and her husband, Vincent, of Glassboro; two sisters, Helen Parella, of Worcester, Mass., and Carmella Lipari, of Wenonah; several nieces and nephews; great nieces and nephews; and great great nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by three of her sisters: Jennie Vonanno, Anna Castagnola, and Mary Bonina.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, March 13, at St. Bridget Church. Entombment was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Contributions in Ms. Catania’s memory may be made to the Church of St. Bridget, 125 Church St., Glassboro, NJ.