Christa A. (Reiss) Ciaccio

Christa Agnes (Reiss) Ciaccio passed away Sunday October 5th at her home in Cranford, NJ.  She was 86 years old. Born on January 7, 1939 in Brooklyn, NY, Christa was the oldest of six children.

Christa attended Catholic school throughout her childhood and graduated from The Mary Louis Academy in Queens, NY at the top of her class in 1957.

Christa raised and supported her 4 children all on her own and worked as a freight forwarder for years before opening her own business with her mother Rita, called C & R Freight Forwarding.  She retired in the early 1990’s.

During her retirement she enjoyed traveling and ballroom dancing with her longtime companion, Jim Cascio. Christa had a contagious laugh and loved to bring laughter to others. She took up golf, and enjoyed playing with her godmother Claire, as well as her children. She enjoyed finishing her day with her favorite cocktail, Dewars and club soda with lemon.

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Christa’s first love was her grandchildren. She would spend weekends with them, watching their sporting events, taking train rides to the Jersey Shore, walking the boardwalk and fishing.  Her all time favorite activity with her grandchildren was putting on her slippers and sharing “cocktails”, pretzels, and doing scratch off tickets with them.

Christa is predeceased by her son Peter David, her daughter Cynthia, her brother Gerard Reiss and sister Rita Grant.  She is survived by her son Kenneth and daughter in law Joanne of Milltown, her son Christopher and daughter in law Jennifer of East Brunswick, her daughter Jami Mattson and son in law Michael Volpe of Pompton Lakes and daughter in law, Siobhan Ciaccio of Calabash, NC as well as brothers Owen Reiss and Anthony Reiss, sister Susan DeRosa and many nieces and nephews.  

Christa is also survived by her grandchildren Nicole Mattson of Vernon, NJ, Jessica DeBenedetto and her husband Thomas of Wayne, NJ,  Alyssa Ciaccio and her husband Ryan English of Gainesville, FL, Vito Ciaccio and his wife Deidre of Mineola, NY, Melissa Ciaccio and her fiancé Connor Jagemann of Parlin, NJ, Matthew Ciaccio and his fiancé Shannon Brogan of Parlin, NJ, Sarah Ciaccio and her fiancé Thomas Heim of Old Bridge, NJ, Michael K Ciaccio of Milltown, and Michael Anthony Ciaccio of East Brunswick. Christa also leaves 5 great granddaughters Olivia, Isabella, Marceline, Esmerelda and Quinn.

Friends and family will be received Friday 3:00pm – 7:00pm at the Bronson and McNamara Memorial Home of Milltown, NJ.  The burial will be private.

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