Ellen Emma Cerutti

Ellen Emma (Wells) Cerutti, 99, of Delray Beach, Florida, passed over in her sleep on the night of July 17, 2019. Ellen was born on May 2, 1920, in Haverhill, Mass., where she spent the early years of her life. She had many ancestors, paternally and maternally, who came to America to escape religious persecution in Europe. Her 10X Great Grandfather, Roger Williams, arrived in “The Colonies” in Boston in 1631. He founded the colony of Rhode Island in 1636.
Ellen married her first husband, Thomas A. Leonard in 1941 and together they had a son, Thomas, Jr. Ellen and her husband worked for Curtis-Wright Aircraft during the war helping to build bombers for the effort. She worked soldering electrical components and he was a welder. In 1944 her husband passed from pneumonia leaving her to raise their son alone. Ellen married her second husband, John P. Cerutti in 1946. They lived in Cliffside Park, N.J., until moving to Saddle Brook, N.J., in 1951, where her three sons attended school. The Cerutti’s enjoyed summers in Sussex County at Lake Neepaulin from 1956 onward, where Ellen was crowned Mrs. Lake Neepaulin in 1960. John P. Cerutti passed in March of 1982.
Ellen was incredibly smart, joyful, happy and the best mother anyone could ask for. She was always there to help out a family member, a neighbor or a friend. She loved to dance. She won many awards for her dancing skills throughout the years and never sat out a dance. She always had prospective dance partners waiting in line for the opportunity. Up until her mid-80s, she would still go out dancing three times a week until she felt she could no longer sustain her “form”.
Ellen loved life and always wanted to be out and about. She played the penny slots in many casinos around the country and even attended thoroughbred racing. She never did anything for the money, but always for the challenge. In Florida, where she lived for 25 years, she was always with friends driving to casinos, dance parlors, restaurants, and malls
Ellen is survived by her three sons, Thomas and his wife, Barbara of Wantage, NJ, Robert and partner, Sandra of Milford, PA and John of Vernon, NJ as well as nine grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. The family will receive their friends at Ferguson Funeral Home, 27 Third Street, Sussex, N.J., on Monday, July 22, 2019, from 10 until noon. Funeral service at the funeral home to begin at 12 Noon. Interment to follow at Fairview Cemetery, Fairview, NJ. Information and condolences can be found at www.fergusonsussexfuneralhome.com