Anna Norma Staniszewski

Anna Norma Staniszewski, beloved wife of the late Herbert William (Wilhelm) Staniszewski, and mother of Claudia, Herbert William, and Mary Anne, died early in the morning on April 5, 2022, at the age of 95, having had Alzheimer's for many years. Anna Staniszewski (family name O’Biso) was born on September 24, 1926, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her parents, Pietro (Peter) and Calogera Franco (known to all as Lillian) O’Biso, and four of Anna’s siblings had immigrated to the United States from Palermo, Sicily. Anna and her youngest brother, Joseph, were born in the United States. Anna was especially close to her sister, the late Mary (birth name, Maria Louisa) Basile, and they were dearest of friends throughout their lives. Anna had a discerning intellect and did well in her all of her studies. One of her earliest memories was, as a young toddler, she surprised her parents when they discovered that she had been reading the newspaper, which had been placed on the floor. Anna retained her love of reading throughout her life, and as an adult would commonly be reading several books at one time. Anna received a nursing degree from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey, and the United States Cadet Nurse Corps in 1947. When graduating, Anna had considered taking a position with an indigenous community on an Indian Reservation and also a job on a navy hospital ship, but representative of her caring, selfless, and generous nature, her brothers convinced her to remain in New Jersey to support their Mother, who was then recently widowed and for whom she had an especially warm and wonderful relationship. Anna initially worked as an emergency room nurse at Paterson’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, and then she took a position at the Barnet Hospital, also in Paterson. There she met Herbert, a physician who was completing an internship at the Barnet after having received a degree at the Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Herbert had described their meeting as “love at first sight.” The two married soon after they met, on January 2, 1954, and were throughout their lives devoted to each other. Anna often said how much she loved caring for her family and her role as mother, which she performed with an extra-ordinary creativity and excellence. Anna was distinguished by her intelligence, her optimism, her great sense of humor, her self-less caring for others, and an aesthetic and purposeful originality that she brought to all of her endeavors, from the small details of everyday life to the larger most important matters. Anna was a fabulous cook, had a particular affinity to birds, and possessed an inspiring appreciation of the beauty of nature and the arts. Anna and Herbert spent most of their child-rearing years in North Haledon, New Jersey, and they retired to Charlotte, Vermont, near where their son Herb and his family lived. Both of Anna and Herbert’s homes were surrounded by woods, with well-cared-for grounds and lovely gardens. After Herbert’s death in 1996, Anna lived in Baltimore, Maryland, with Claudia, independently in Massachusetts, then with Herb, his wife Kathy, and their children, Anna and Chris, in Mendon, Massachusetts. In the last decades of her life, Anna lived in Rhode Island near Claudia. During these years, Anna received wonderful care from the staff at Tockwotton on the Waterfront in East Providence, Rhode Island, and before that, the staff at Briarcliff Manor in Johnston, Rhode Island, for which the Staniszewski family is deeply grateful. Anna is survived by her children and their families, Mary Anne Staniszewski and her husband Mark Looney; Claudia Staniszewski; and Herb, Kathy, Anna, and Chris Staniszewski.

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Anna Norma Staniszewski

April 5, 2022