Theresa Dodaro

Theresa didn't just enter a room; she brightened it. Whether it was the sequins on her shirt or the perfect hair, makeup, and nails she made every room she entered a better one. She carefully curated her style from head to toe right until her last days. Her daughter made sure of it!

She was a Philadelphia girl who found her family home in Maple Shade in 1959, but her heart was often found in North Wildwood. For over thirty years, the family’s one-bedroom condo was the epicenter of a "great time” full of children, two dogs; three generations all squeezed into a space made large by her hospitality.

Theresa opened up her home to anyone who wanted to take a swim in her pool. She was the protective mother who ensured every sleepover happened under her roof, where she could “keep an eye on them”. Most times, she provided the bathing suits, the towels, and though she might have grumbled about the endless laundry, she never stopped providing the fun!

She was a woman of many hobbies. Cooking being her favorite, she also enjoyed bowling in a woman’s league, mastering ceramics and Sudoku. She was a gifted seamstress who orchestrated every grandchild’s Halloween costume and hemmed every piece of clothing until it fit just right. She was a devotee of Turner Classic Movies, a woman who refused to watch commercials because they interrupted the magic of a good musical. She was the "Happy Homemaker" who turned a spare bedroom into a walk-in closet of dreams, filled with clothes that still carry the tags of future adventures she intended to take.

In the kitchen, Theresa was her happiest. She went through many cooking phases but her legacy was defined by the Christmas Eve seafood cioppino. It was the centerpiece of her favorite night of the year—a tradition of the Seven Fishes that she finessed into everyone’s favorite dish and her grandchildren’s favorite holiday.

She met a handsome boy named Joseph in kindergarten. Their shared story began with pigtails dipped in ink and books being playfully knocked out of her hands and would culminate with a 67-year marriage blessed by a daughter Joann (Stephen) Reppert; grandchildren, Alyssa (John), Victoria (Bryan), and Stephen (Alyssa); and her great-grandson, Vincent.

Family will celebrate 88 great years at a private ceremony at the family’s request.

Interment will take place at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make donations to Samaritan @samaritannj.org/donate.