Obituary of Kathleen C. Bisci

On Monday, May 19, 2025, Kathleen Claire Bisci (née Marson) passed away in the arms of her beloved husband Johnny, the greatest love of her life.

Kathy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 2, 1940, the daughter of Claire and Stanley Marson. The eldest of two children, Kathy played a central role in raising her younger brother Stanley, and her own childhood was blessed by the loving relationships she formed with lifelong friends Pat Kennelly, Gerri Struehringer, Carolyn Goettleman, and Pat Oshinski. As a senior in high school, she met a dashing young man named John Bisci at a local dance hall, and they quickly began a life together, marrying in 1962. After their two children Mark and Sherri were born, they moved out of the city to South Plainfield, New Jersey, where she worked as a secretary at South Plainfield Middle School for many years. Her mother, Claire, joined them, living downstairs, and was a central part of their family. Kathy was incredibly proud of the home and the life she and Johnny made together in South Plainfield, often musing aloud “Who would have thought that Kathy Bisci from Brooklyn would be living here, like this?” Kathy and John were active members of Sacred Heart Church, and served as leaders in the community through the youth group, Genesis.

More than anything, Kathy loved to be surrounded by friends and family, eating good food and drinking wine (often a Gallo or Carlo Rossi jug), laughing uproariously at the rehashing of old stories. Kathy loved to dance and go out on the town, and her dearest friends - the Callanans, the Devitos, the Grillos, the Harrisons, the Nabereznys, the Schultes, and the Zaslows, to name a few - participated in countless dinners, parties, and social events with her.  Kathy treasured her meaningful relationships, strengthened by time spent with Mark’s and Sherri’s friends, her grandchildren’s friends and significant others, summer weeks in Cape Cod and Thursday pizza nights.    

Though she was happiest surrounded by others, Kathy also valued her time alone to read and garden, both of which she did prolifically until the very last days of her life. She and Johnny were avid travellers, and throughout their life, they explored the world together (Croatia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Norway, to name just a few of their many trips).

While she loved to travel, Kathy also cherished the time she spent in the family’s house in the Pocono Mountains, where she and Johnny spent nearly every weekend and summer. Spending hours cooking for her children’s and grandchildren’s many friends who traipsed in and out of the house, Kathy was thrilled to be surrounded by laughter and love in the peaceful setting she valued most. While she might have pretended to be irritated by the crumbs on the floor, everyone knew she loved sweeping up in the morning because it meant everyone had enjoyed themselves the night before. Later in her life, Kathy and her friends began the routine of checking in via text each morning, being known for texting that each day was a “GDTBA” (Great Day to be Alive), despite battling stomach cancer for over ten years. This is just one example of her gratitude, fortitude, and conviction to see the joy and beauty of life everyday.

She is survived by a family who cherish her as she did them: her loving husband, John Bisci; her two children, Mark and Sherri, along with their spouses Annette and Beth; and her four treasured grandchildren, A.J., Julian, Emily and Nathan, and Julian’s wife Bella and A.J.’s partner Julia. She was sister to the late Stanley Marson, and she leaves behind many loved nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Family and Friends may gather on Thursday, May 22, 2025 from 4-8PM pm in the McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield, NJ 07080.

A funeral mass will be celebrated on Friday, May 23, 2025 Sacred Heart RC Church, South Plainfield for a Funeral Mass at 10 AM. Those who wish to join the family prior to the mass must do so at 9 AM in the funeral home. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Kathy’s memory can be made to Sturge Weber Foundation, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, or a related charity.