Plan for the Future
Stella Grace Blandino, a long-time resident of Whippany, passed away on May 6, 2023. She was 89. She joins her dear husband, Carmen, in eternal rest.
Stella was born in 1933 in Newark, NJ, to Guiseppe and Maria (Gugliotta) Mantineo. She was the fourth of five siblings, and she worked at her father’s produce store as she grew up. Stella spent her career working in the insurance industry for Wharton/Lyon & Lyon.
In 1954, Stella Mantineo married Carmen Blandino and they spent 66 years navigating life together. They had two children and moved to Whippany, NJ, in 1968 where they continued to build their lives together. Stella was actively involved with Our Lady of Mercy Church and the Columbiettes, an auxiliary group of the Knights of Columbus.
Stella enjoyed spending her free time with her family and friends, going on trips to Atlantic City, and cooking up some of her specialties including Chicken Murphy, broccoli rabe, and her Sunday gravy.
Stella is survived by her children Karen LaRusso and her companion Joseph Esposito, and George Blandino and his wife Michele; grandchildren Danielle Kelly and her husband George, Jennifer Blandino and her fiancé Jonathan Vasilik, and Michael Blandino; great-grandchildren George and Liliana Kelly; and her brother Joseph Mantineo and his wife Kathleen. She is preceded in death by her husband, Carmen Blandino, her parents Guiseppe and Maria Mantineo, her stepmother Maria Santa Mantineo, and her siblings John Mantineo, Ann Frette, and Helen Richlan. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered in the hearts of her loved ones.
