Gloria Pambianchi

Gloria (nee Baca) Pambianchi, 95, of Dumont, formerly of New York City, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 16, 2022. She was predeceased by her parents Cora and Felix Baca, her nine brothers and sisters, her son Joseph Caldararo, son-in-law Daniel M. Tolan and her loving husband of over 50 years, Fernando Pambianchi. Devoted mother and mother-in-law to Mariah Mallet and her husband Phil Leger of Royalston, MA, and Marlene Tolan of Dumont, NJ. Loving Noni (grandmother) to Jennifer (Tolan) Lawson and her husband John Lawson of Ridgewood, NJ, Christopher Tolan and and his wife Nicole (Vernola) Tolan of Midland Park, NJ, Michael Tolan of Dumont, NJ and Nicole (Mallet) Adolphson and her husband Odin Adolphson of Pittsfield, MA. Loving great-grandmother to Daniel, Gregory, Jillian, Brett and Mina. Gloria will also be missed by her many nieces and nephews. A Christmas baby, Gloria grew up in a humble suburb near Denver, Colorado. She was proud of her Navajo heritage and was affectionately called “The Chief” by her husband and family. She met her husband, Nando, in New York City and that became her home for many years. They loved dancing, and enjoyed trips to upstate New York and Italy, to visit relatives. Gloria believed in work, hard work and she was never inclined to take a handout. She held many different jobs over the years to make ends meet including a keypunch operator at Pan American Airlines, a clerk at The Federal Reserve Bank, and a telephone operator at New York Telephone Company. In her later years, she was a salesperson at Miller’s Bakery in Tenafly, NJ because “working keeps you young”. She made countless friends who enjoyed their morning chats over coffee before retiring at the age of 83. Gloria was a fantastic cook and enjoyed entertaining family and friends. Holidays and Sunday dinners were always a highlight as course after course of food was served. There was no better Sunday gravy and you would always be encouraged to eat more by her gentle prodding, “Don’t be ashamed.” She was tough as nails and always spoke her mind; picture it…Sophia Petrillo from the Golden Girls minus the gray hair because she insisted on always having her done at the beauty parlor. Her family says her strong will and personality has been passed down to its women and is often referred to as “the Noni gene”. Her loved ones were her life, her greatest joy and source of comfort. Generous to a fault, everything she did was for her family and she never parted without a warm embrace and an “I love you.” It was a privilege to have spent everyday moments with her, gossiping and telling stories. Visiting Wednesday, October 19th from 4:00-8:00 PM at the Barrett Funeral Home, Tenafly, NJ. Funeral Mass Thursday, October 20th at 10:00 AM at St. Therese’s RC Church, Cresskill, NJ. Interment to follow at George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations made in Gloria’s name to St. Jude’s Children Hospital would be greatly appreciated.