Obituary of Michelina Panzarella
South Plainfield, NJ – Michelina (D’Amico) Panzarella, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at her home with her loving family at her bedside. Born and raised in South Plainfield, Michelina (affectionately called Mickie) was a lifelong resident of the borough where she and her late husband (Paul John) established deep roots, instilling hard work and dedicated values for almost a century.
She worked at Harris Steel and National Starch in the finance department. Then proceeded to work alongside her husband for their business, “PJ Contracting” in South Plainfield. A devout catholic, Mickie was a longtime member of Sacred Heart Church. A very active parishioner, she dedicated her time volunteering to all aspects of church activities. Whether it was helping at the Friday night dinners to counting weekly Mass contributions, she was always giving back to the community. Mickie could also be found at the South Plainfield Senior Center volunteering.At the center she coordinated the Woodlock Pines Trips for 10 years. She also volunteered at Roosevelt Hospital for over 12 years.
Above all things, family was most important. She was the matriarch of the Panzarella family and looked forward to Sunday family dinners and hosting Christmas Eve and preparing an Italian-American favorite, the Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner celebrated on Christmas Eve.
She is predeceased by her parents Frank and Elvira (DiPaola) D’Amico, her brother Marcel D’Amico who died during a training accident in the United States Air Force and her husband Paul J. Panzarella who died in 1985. Michelina leaves behind her loving sons; Paul and his wife Susan of South Plainfield, Donald and his wife Valerie of Three Bridges and Phillip and his wife Elizabeth of Bethesda, MD, devoted grandchildren; PJ and Katie, Joseph and Nicole, Michael and Erin, Jeffrey and Tiffany, Nicholas and Lauren and Kristin Sterling and David as well as her cherished great-grandchildren; PJ, Natalie, Siena, Luisa, Cipriano, Nicholas, Oliver, Alexandra and Andersen; and her brother John and wife Alice, as well as many other dear nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may attend the visitation to be held in the McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield, NJ 07080 on Friday, January 2, 2026 from 4pm until 8pm.
A funeral mass will be offered on Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 10:00 AM in the Church of the Sacred Heart Church, 149 South Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield. Burial will follow mass alongside her husband in the family plot of Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield.
To send condolences to the Panzarella family, please visit Michelina’s interactive webpage at www.McCriskinFuneralHome.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name may be made to Impact the lives of St. Jude kids - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital