Vera G. Castagna

Vera Galante Castagna, of Millington, NJ, was born on January 13th, 1954 and entered the Kingdom of God on May 7th, 2025. She was 71 years young.

 Vera leaves behind her devoted husband of 45 years, John A. Castagna, and their two loving daughters, Maria Rose and Laura Theresa Castagna. She also leaves behind her brother, Joseph Galante and wife Lisa, nephew Michael Galante, niece Julie Gulick; and several great nieces and nephews.

Vera’s life was filled with an abundance of love from her late father and mother, Joseph and Theresa Galante, and with very fond memories of all in the Galante family. We know that as she enters the gates of heaven, she is being reunited with her beloved dogs, Charlie, Buddy and Fayden.

Her life started in the ironbound section of Newark (Down Neck), where she attended St. Vincents Grammar School, and then went on to South Orange, where she attended highschool at Marylawn of the Oranges.

From there, Vera was accepted into Seton Hall University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, which led her to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, where she obtained her Master’s Degree, also in Sociology. Years later, Vera went back to Seton Hall where she earned a Master’s Degree in Theology.

Amid all of her studies, which she truly enjoyed; Vera remained a dedicated Yankee fan, a loving dog mom, and an avid beach-goer on 16th Ave in Belmar, NJ. She took time to rejuvenate herself and her faith by going on spiritual retreats with the St. Vincent de Paul Women’s Retreats.

A highly educated person and lifelong learner, Vera chose to stay close to home while her children were in school, and worked for her parish, St. Vincent de Paul Church in Stirling, NJ, from 1999 until she became sick. Anyone that walked into the Parish House over the last 25 years knew that they would be greeted with Vera’s smile and could hear her voice, along with seeing the many pictures of her family displayed across her desk. Vera enjoyed the little things in life and will be missed, dearly & forever, by all that knew her.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the visitations on Thursday May 15th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Galante Funeral Home, 2800 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. Another visitation will be held on Friday May 16th from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Stirling, NJ. A mass will be held on Saturday May 17th 10:00 am at the church, followed by entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover. The funeral mass at St. Vincent de Paul will be live streamed through their website on Saturday morning for those who cannot attend, but wish to be there. The link to view the livestream can be found by clicking here.