Alice Panasik passed peacefully on January 7, 2021 just short of her 98th birthday, to join in Heaven her beloved husband of 65 years, Wallace Panasik, Jr. and her sisters and brothers.
Alice was a fearless, courageous woman who worked all her life to achieve her goals in education, business and life. She was Miss Sussex County and traveled the US, starting at the age of 18, continuing her entire life, showing us the value of experiencing what the world has to offer.
She lived through the depression, WWII and other earthly adversities, worked at Picatinny Arsenal, and rose through the ranks at Crum & Forster managing a department at a time when women in management were a rarity. She was a past President of the American Legion Auxiliary where she and our father were members for decades. She loved the beach, going to Ocean Grove with her sister in her early years, and later taking our whole family with her. She loved her horses, skiing and gardening, always giving us advice on our life’s choices.
However, if you asked her she would say that her greatest joy in life was growing a family with our father, and keeping those familial connections with our aunts, uncles and cousins alive. As Matriarch of our family we will miss her love, guidance, intelligence, wit, and determination to take the right action no matter the adversity. She is survived by her family who hope to make her proud. Her children Donna Colaneri, Deborah Neumann and Wallace Panasik III, along with their spouses William Neumann and Patricia Panasik now take up her legacy. Her grandchildren Alicia and Tom Kuensel, Kelly Worman and Max Cohen, Cassandra Worman, and Collin Panasik, and her great-grandchildren Morgan and Isabella Kuensel will keep her in their hearts forever.
Funeral services are being held in a private ceremony on January 12, 2021.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the American Cancer Society, or think of Alice and complete an act of kindness in her honor.