Elizabeth E. Azzara

Elizabeth Ernestine (Betty) Azzara, 87, of Missoula, Montana, formerly of Millburn N.J. and Brick, N.J., passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 16, 2016 at her home, of Pancreatic Cancer. She had been diagnosed just 4 short weeks earlier, and had been living life in her decidedly independent way, up until her diagnosis, at which point, in her equally determined way, she made peace with her fate, and accepted it like the sensible, thoughtful person she was. "I've had a good life," she said.
Betty was born on September 7, 1928, in Irvington, New Jersey, to Caroline Ernestine Heck and Jacob Thomas Azzara. Her elementary years were spent in Millburn, N.J. and she graduated from Millburn High School in 1944. In 1946, she continued her schooling at The College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, (now Morristown,) N.J., earning a B.A. degree in English/philosophy in 1950. From 1950 to 1953 she attended Fordham University School of Social Work, Bronx, N.Y., then attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., where she received her M.L.S. (Master of Library Science.)
Betty's many years of employment inc luded Family Division Casework at Catholic Charities, Essex and Hudson counties, N.J. from 1950 to 1953, and at Seton Hall University Mc Laughlin Library, South Orange N.J. from 1953 until 1989 where Betty retired as Associate Dean, receiving the Mc Quaid Medal for Outstanding Service at Seton Hall University, presented to her at commencement by then U.S. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.
Betty had many devoted lifelong friends, including those she met at her beloved College of St. Elizabeth, Catholic Charities and Seton Hall. She was an avid reader ,thinker, and lover of books, which she graciously and frequently, purchased for friends and family alike. She was a world traveler, full of fun and frolic, highly generous and charitable to a fault. A convert to Roman Catholicism in 1948, she was a great admirer of the Catholic Worker Social Justice Movement, and its founder, Dorothy Day. Betty was a liberal thinker, and truly lived by the credos of justice, conscience, pacificism mercy and non-violence. A few of Betty's favorite charities speak to her sense of humanity: The Missoula Food Bank Network; The Missoula Poverello Center for the Homeless; The Catholic Worker; The Southern Poverty Law Center; Doctors Without Borders and The Nature Conservancy.
She was a true "Jersey Girl" at heart, and loved the ocean and the New Jersey shore, particularly Manasquan, Brielle and Spring Lake, where she spent many happy sun filled days during the course of her whole life. The years she lived in Brick, N.J. were among.-".her most contented. She was also an aficianado of classical music ..particularly soprano Maria Callas and German composer Wagner, some
of whose music was known to fill her with fist pumping glee
Preceded in death by her parents; a brother Thomas Jay Azzara of Missoula and formerly of Nutley, N.J.; cousins Fred Azzara of Audobon, Pa., and Joan Maxwell of Penn Yan, NY.
Survivors include her beloved sister in- law, Ruth A. Azzara; nephews, Thomas A. Azzara and James J. Azzara; niece Christine Azzara Gingerelli and her husband Louis Gingerelli; grand nephew Aaron T. Gingerelli ; grand niece Chira Gingerelli -Hegg and their spouses and children, all of Missoula, MT.
A small family service will take place at Flathead Lake later this summer and a private, simple Catholic Mass will take place in her honor at St. Francis Xavier Church, Missoula, Mt. in September. Her family wishes to acknowledge and thank, Hospice of Missoula; Harvest Home Care; private caregivers Diedra Hoyt RN NP and Ardis Kerber RN; and her physician Diane Yahn, MD for their caring attention to Betty.

Betty's favorite quote sums up her life well:

"To Laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children, to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of one's self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived-this is to have succeeded. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)."