Paula was born September 19, 1927 to Maryann Larosa Biase and Carmine Biase. She graduated from Central High School in Newark, NJ in 1945. She, like many of her girlfriends at the time, went to work for New Jersey Bell Telephone Company where she worked as a secretary for seven years.
Paula married H. Richard “Dick” Travaglini in April of 1950. Together they raised four children, Gale, Mark, Maryann, and Richard, initially in Newark. In 1966, the family moved to Bloomfield. Paula worked part-time for the A+P grocery store on Ampere Parkway. She obtained a full-time secretarial position in Human Resources with Schering Plough in Bloomfield in 1970, where she worked until retirement in 1990.
With children and grandchildren in South Carolina, Paula and Dick moved to SC in 1994. Paula was active in Prince of Peace St. Theresa’s Guild, Stone Lake Garden club, and Ladies Lunch Bunch. She also volunteered with Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and weekly at the Poor Claire’s Monastery when it was on Pleasantburg Drive. As the care and maintenance of the Stone Lake home became too much, Paula and Dick moved to Haywood Estates. When her health and independence further declined, she moved to assisted living at the Cascades at Verdae, where she passed away on February 1, 2019.
Paula was a fabulous cook, comparable to Ina Garten or Lidia Bastianich. She shared her best recipes with family and friends far and wide. Family gatherings over Sunday or holiday dinners were her trademark.
Paula is survived by her husband, H. Richard of 68 years and their four children, Gale Travaglini Brock and son-in-law Howard of Alexandria, VA, Mark Travaglini and daughter-in-law JoAnna of Weaverville, NC, Maryann Travaglini Festa and son-in-law Rick of Mill Spring, NC, and Richard Travaglini and daughter-in law Joanne of Bedminster, NJ. Paula also leaves behind six grandchildren, Andrew and wife Ashley, Lorna, Joseph and wife Melissa, Alex, Jason, and Cara, and three great grandchildren, Delia, Delaney, and Luca.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Greenville, SC, followed by family only interment at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to your favorite charity, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, 307 Gower St., Greenville, SC 29611, or the Prince of Peace St. Vincent de Paul Society, 1209 Brushy Creek Rd., Taylors, SC 29687.
Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown.
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