Paulette Thérèse Reilly, formerly of Metuchen, N.J., died peacefully surrounded by family in San Antonio, TX on May 28th, 2020. One of three children born to French Canadian parents in New Bedford, Massachusetts, she is predeceased by her brother Gilbert Levesque who passed away in 1994 and survived by her younger brother Paul living in Virginia with wife Beverly.
Paulette graduated from Hunter College in New York City with a Nursing Degree. She worked at several Manhattan hospitals before taking a nursing assignment in Saudi Arabia, where she met and married Jay Reilly. After the birth of their first child in Saudi Arabia, Paulette and Jay moved back to the states where they had five more children.
Paulette is survived by her sons, Vincent and his fiancée Rose Robinson residing in Tucson, AZ, Hayes and his wife Elyse residing in Berkeley Heights, NJ. Donald and wife Elizabeth reside in San Antonio, TX, and George who resides in Princeton, NJ with his wife Ann. Paulette’s daughter Maria also resides in San Antonio, TX and daughter Shelagh lives in East Windsor, New Jersey. Paulette was also blessed with sixteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Paulette had a zest for life with her charm, beauty, wit, intelligence, and tremendous style. She was also a superb athlete and some of you might have spotted her jogging in the early mornings in the streets of Metuchen. She was very proud of her French-Canadian roots and spoke the language fluently. She adored and appreciated art, music, foreign films, opera, and literature. Paulette enjoyed entertaining friends and family and would love to sit in her backyard soaking up the sun and reading the daily New York Times.
As well rounded and well-read as she was, her true love was raising her six children and being around her grandchildren and most recently her great-grandchildren. She would light up when greeted by her grandchildren calling her “Mémère,” the French equivalent of grandmother, a loving term her own children called their grandmother, Paulette’s mother Juliette.
Paulette had so much love and guidance to give anyone who needed it and was very generous with both. She will be dearly missed by many, especially “The Reilly Six”.
Visitation will be held on Friday, August 7, 2020, at the Costello-Runyon Funeral Home 568 Middlesex Ave. (RT 27) Metuchen. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, August 8, 2020, at 10:00 AM at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen.
