Linda Diane Loffredo

8/2/2016

 Linda Diane Loffredo, age 58, of Rockaway, and formerly of Wayne, passed Tuesday, August 2, 2016, after a lengthy illness.

She was born in Pequannock to the late Ronald and Laura Loffredo. Linda’s family moved from Lincoln Park to Laauwe Avenue in Wayne when she was just five years old. She would call Wayne her home for well over thirty years. Linda graduated from Wayne Valley High School with the Class of 1976, where her years on the school swim team led to a lifelong love of swimming. She and her boyfriend/common-law-husband Raymond Escobar have lived in Rockaway for the past fifteen years.

During her high school years, Linda worked at the Shop Rite grocery store that was located at the intersection of Hamburg Turnpike and Church Lane in Wayne. In later years, she did data entry, secretarial work, and bookkeeping for Bell’s Data in Totowa, System One Security in Franklin Lakes, Benisch & Company Insurance in Livingston, and most recently for Drom International in Towaco. A true workaholic, she held many part-time jobs that she fit in on days off, evenings, and weekends. For a while she even became a real estate appraiser for Weichert Realtors in Hackensack. Linda had to leave her work at Drom International in November of 2015 because of her failing health. 

Linda was baptized, confirmed, and a member of Saint Timothy Lutheran Church in Wayne. She loved her church, and particularly enjoyed being a reader for Stations of the Cross, held each year in Holy Week.

She will be missed dearly and fondly remembered for her outgoing personality, her friendly and compassionate ways, her generosity, her love of talking on the telephone, and as a great listener. She had a glowing smile and was a friend to just about everyone she met. Linda loved the Jersey Shore and formed many fond family memories during summer visits to Wildwood. 

One of her passions was music. She played the guitar and piano, and loved going to concerts. She even dated one of the band members of the group White Tiger. Her music idol was Peter Frampton, whom she was fortunate to meet. Frampton gave her a song list from one of his concerts and a guitar pick, and she even got a pair of drumsticks from the band. For many years she was also a personal friend of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who is known for his Bluegrass folk music. 

In her teens and early twenties, she also loved to dance and enjoyed dance recitals where she could take center stage. 

Linda was a pet lover always. As a young girl, she had a bunny rabbit named Snoopy and a dog named Toby. Linda got Toby after visiting the home where he was part of a litter of puppies. Toby left the litter and followed Linda. She took this as a sign, and scooped up Toby and brought him home. Her father initially said no to a dog, but when he saw how cute Toby was, his heart melted and Toby was welcomed into the family. Years later, in her own home, she had a cat that she named Ronnie after her father, and a cat she named Toby after her first dog. 

If there was one thing you could count on Linda for, it was being late. She was late to just about every family function or party, and was never on time to church. Those who knew her best would tell her to arrive 2 hours prior to the actual scheduled time – and then hope for the best. Linda herself always seemed to be surprised by her lateness. She never meant for it to happen; it just did! 

Linda was the much-loved girlfriend and common-law-wife of twenty-five years to Raymond Escobar of Rockaway; much loved sister of Anthony Loffredo and his wife Rose Marie of Ringwood; cherished aunt of Melanie and Breanna Loffredo, both of Ringwood; dear step-daughter of Anne Loffredo of Wayne; loved step-sister of William Landolfi and his dear friend Dvora Najee of New York City. She is also survived by her loving uncle Joseph Loffredo of Wayne, her cousins and their families, and many good friends.

Friends may visit with the family from 4-8 PM on Friday, August 5, 2016 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.

Funeral services will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at St Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. A repast will follow in St. Timothy’s Fellowship Hall, and all are invited to share stories and celebrate Linda’s life at that time.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the St. Timothy Memorial Garden Fund, 395 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 would be appreciated.