Obituary of Laraine Marie Moline

Laraine Marie Moline (nee Di Lella), 80 of Totowa, New Jersey passed away on April 3, 2021 at Hackensack University Medical Center. Her husband and daughters were by her side. Laraine was born on October 7, 1940 to her devoted and loving parents, the late Anthony and Marie Grace(Savastano) Di Lella of Paterson.  She was also the dear daughter of the late Silvio Sisto of Paterson.

Laraine grew up in the Stoney Road section of Paterson. She attended school #7 and St. Bonaventure High School. Laraine excelled in school, skipping a grade in high school.  She enjoyed many extra curricular activities, such as drama club, sock hops, ice skating, music, and singing.  She also loved spending time with her girlfriends, who remained her best friends throughout her life.  She also enjoyed the many trips to NYC and to Seaside with her mother and family. Later, Laraine attended classes at William Paterson and Montclair State colleges. Out of high school, Laraine worked for an insurance company. Before retiring, she had a long career as a bank platform customer representative for First National Bank, then Wachovia Bank in Totowa.

Laraine was the most beloved wife of Robert E. Moline, of Bloomfield and Lincoln Park. They were married for over 60 years and were each other's true loves. They raised their two daughters in Totowa and enjoyed family vacations in the Adirondack Mountains each summer. They also traveled with their daughters to California, Montreal, Puerto Rico, and to other special places. Later, they put their daughters through college. Laraine and her husband traveled throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East including the Holy Land, Egypt, Australia, Russia, and Japan. They enjoyed traveling and cruising with their close friends and were life-long supporters of the visual and performing arts. Many other good times were spent at their vacation home in the Poconos. 

Laraine was a wonderful and devoted wife and mother.  She was an excellent cook and kept a beautiful home. Laraine and her husband hosted many holidays and celebrations through the decades.  She kept up all of her family's traditions and always made Christmas extra special. Her husband, daughters and grand-daughters were at the heart of her life. Always supportive, she never missed any event involving her family.  Laraine was also very close to her parents, her brother, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins growing up. They remained important to her throughout her life, especially her extraordinary and most treasured  mother, Marie. Laraine was also a life-long parishioner at Our Lady of Pompeii Church and was devoted to St. Anthony at St. Bonaventure’s.

Laraine was the cherished and adored mother of Donna Moline and her husband, John Smalley of Little Falls and Karen Hardmeyer and her husband, Kory of Belmar. She was also the loving and most treasured “Nana” of Kaitlyn, Lindsey, and Audrey Hardmeyer. Laraine is also survived by her cherished and loving brother and sister-in-law, Anthony C. and Lauren Di Lella of Montclair, her nieces Nicole Di Lella and Marisa Beneventi, brother- in-law Douglas W. Moline and family of Florida, her cherished Aunt Angie Begega, her loving cousins Bernadine Poploski, Madelyn Rich, and Steven Begega, and her best and treasured girlfriends since childhood Terry Vittorio, Anne Bracchitta, and JoAnn Giamonco. She also leaves behind several other nieces and nephews, cousins, and many friends and neighbors.

Laraine is predeceased by her grandparents James and Margaret Savastano, Aunt Mary and Uncle Charles Savastano, Uncle Steve Begega, and parents- in- law, Elmer W. and Hazel(nee Jacobus) Moline.

Laraine will always be remembered for her generous heart, her fun-loving spirit, and for her kindness and internal beauty she showed to her family and friends.  Always courageous, eternally positive, funny, smart, and beautiful. Always strong, she never gave up hope and never gave in  to adversity.

A private viewing took place at Santangelo Funeral Home in Woodland Park on April 6th for family and close friends. Laraine's funeral mass was celebrated at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Paterson, followed by interment at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa on April 7th. In lieu of flowers, donations were made to the Multiple Myeloma Foundation.