Obituary

Marie (nee Salinardi) Cahill passed from this life and her native Hoboken on March 5, 2021.  She was one month shy of her 92nd birthday. The third of five children of Mary (nee Parlotti) and Philip Salinardi, she was born in the house where she lived most of her life, the same residence her immigrant grandparents from Potenza, Italy, purchased in 1923. It has remained the home of Salinardi descendants for nearly a century.

At the age of 16 Marie began working part-time at the Macy’s Herald Square store. After graduation from Demarest High School she became a full-time employee of Macy’s for the next ten years, eventually hired as a clerk in the union office. She had fond memories of dressing up in costumes as a participant in the Thanksgiving Day Parades. On Valentine’s Day in 1957 Marie became engaged to John Cahill, and they were married in November of that same year at SS Peter & Paul Church. Over the next seven years Marie and John would have five children.

Marie and John were active parishioners at Ss Peter & Paul Church where John was president of the Holy Name Society, a lector at Sunday Mass, and a bingo caller. John was eventually named a trustee of the parish. Marie was president of the Siena Home-School Association and was proud of breaking a record by raising $10,000 in a single fundraising event. Marie ran a cub scout troop, served on the parish council, and later joined the Rosary Society. She and John looked forward to dinner-dances where they shared fun with their many parish friends. John and Marie attended all of their children’s baseball, basketball, and football games and cheerleading competitions. Marie was what one would call an “active spectator” and could often be heard to shout “shoot the ball!” Marie played to win, whether it was the slot machines in Atlantic City or a 6-way solitaire game with her grandchildren where she would admonish everyone to “play your cards.” If anyone beat her to a move, she would exclaim, “You dog, you!”

A true Hobokenite, she loved meeting family, friends and neighbors on her stoop or while walking her dog or on her frequent trips to grocery stores. Her Salinardi uncles would stop by for an early morning visit and a shot of whiskey, and her Catalano and Chirichella cousins would ring the doorbell at night with a beehive cake in hand. The extended family looked forward to the annual Salinardi-Catalano Christmas Party held at the Elks Club. Marie was a natural cook and often hosted holiday dinners. Every Sunday was a special afternoon dinner, usually a roast or ravioli. She continued the legacy of her mother and grandmother in making her own sausage and, of course, her own “gravy.” Thursday night was macaroni night, no matter what.

Life in the Cahill house could be chaotic with five children, a dog, a parakeet, turtles, and aquariums. Marie was unfazed and liked to be in the middle of the action. When people came to visit, she would slip away from the adults and could be found playing on the floor with a baby or little children. She was the life of a party who liked to dance, especially to fellow Hoboken native Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” But Marie was always practical and efficient. Rules mattered. There was a right and a wrong, and then there was Marie’s way, the only way. It’s no surprise she had a special affinity also for Sinatra’s “My Way” 

Marie took care of her aging parents who lived upstairs and also her Aunt Carmella, her father’s sister, who lived downstairs. Needless to say, there was always multigenerational drama. In turn, Marie was lovingly cared for by her daughter Mary and her family for many years as she dealt with cancer and heart disease and the ravages of old age. Mary was most proud that Marie could enjoy a quality of life at home for as long as she did.

Marie was predeceased by her husband John who died suddenly on June 27, 1980. She was the rock who held herself and everyone else together. She had already taken a job with the food service at Hoboken High School and later “graduated” to work at the food service at Stevens Tech. But when the opportunity arose, Marie was happiest playing “Grandma” to help raise her granddaughters, Samantha and Gina. Marie was the devoted mother of Hoboken Police Officer Joseph Cahill (Joanne); Michael (Lea); Retired Hoboken Police Lieutenant Thomas Cahill (Barbara); Richard (Beth); and Hoboken Police Department Records Clerk Mary Rotondi (Joseph) and grandmother of Melissa Schrul (Steve) and John Cahill; Michael J. and Caroline Cahill; Christopher, Danielle, and Ryan Cahill; Samantha and Gina Rotondi and one great-granddaughter, Alice Rose Schrul, and another Schrul baby girl due in April. She is survived by her brother Philip Salinardi, Jr. (Eleanor) and sisters-in-law Grace Salinardi and Joan Cahill; predeceased by sister Angela DeLorme and her husband, Cecil; her brother Joseph and his wife Catherine; her brother Richard; and in-laws Anna and Bernard McDonough and Mary and Lawrence Florio. Marie leaves behind many nieces and nephews who were adoring fans.

Due to the current health crisis, funeral arrangements will be private. A memorial mass will be scheduled at Ss Peter and Paul Church, Hoboken, at a later time.

In lieu of flowers please consider a contribution to the Richard L.Salinardi, Jr. Memorial Fund at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, 1465 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63104.

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