THERESA RACHEL (ALSO KNOWN AS THERESA EDNA ZIGRAY) IS A RESIDENT AT CORNELL HALL NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTER. SHE WILL BE CELEBRATING HER 100TH BIRTHDAY AT CORNELL HALL ON MONDAY, JUNE 22ND AT 2:30 PM IN THE AFTERNOON.
THERESA WAS BORN ON JUNE 22, 1915 IN BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY AND MOVED TO ROSELLE PARK AT THE AGE OF 8. SHE WAS THE SECOND ELDEST OF 7 CHILDREN (3 BROTHERS AND 3 SISTERS). AS A TEENAGER SHE LOVED TO SEW AND MADE MATCHING DRESSES FOR HERSELF AND HER SISTERS. THERESA ALSO TOOK AN INTEREST IN SCHOOL WHERE SHE JOINED THE GLEE CLUB AND CHORUS.
THERESA MET HER LATE HUSBAND, MICHAEL RACHEL, WHILE WORKING AT MOREY LA RUE LAUNDRY. AFTER RETURNING HOME FROM SERVING IN THE ARMY IN WWII, THEY MARRIED, MOVED TO KENILWORTH AND HAD TWO SONS AND TWIN DAUGHTERS. UNFORTUNATELY, WIDOWED IN 1960, THERESA RAISED HER CHILDREN ALONE WHILE WORKING PART-TIME IN LOCAL FACTORIES. BY THE AGE OF 72, SHE RETIRED FROM EWC IN KENILWORTH, NEW JERSEY.
LATER ON IN LIFE, THERESA ENJOYED CRAFTS AND MADE BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS. ALTHOUGH TIME HAS PASSED BY, THERESA STILL ENJOYS BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF HER FAMILY: 7 GRANDSONS, 5 GREAT- GRANDCHILDREN, AND 1 GREAT- GREAT- GRANDDAUGHTER.
I, MANUEL FIGUEIREDO, MAYOR OF THE TOWNSHIP OF UNION, IN THE COUNTY OF UNION, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, ON BEHALF OF THE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE, CONGRATULATE THERESA RACHEL AS SHE CELEBRATES HER 100TH BIRTHDAY AND EXTEND OUR SINCERE WISHES FOR MUCH GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS IN THE YEARS AHEAD.