Lawrence Twp. Resident Carmela Dellemonache Celebrates 101st Birthday at Lawrence Rehab & Healthcare

Keep moving, have fun and worry about it tomorrow! That’s the secret sauce to longevity, notes Carmela Dellemonache, a resident of Lawrence Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, who turned 101 on June 3. Surrounded by staff, family and friends, the beloved, fun-loving centenarian was treated to birthday festivities filled with all of her favorite things at the Lawrence Twp. skilled nursing center.

From its sky blue decorations, to the Frank Sinatra playlist, to Italian specialties like eggplant parmigiana and gnocchi, the party in the center’s solarium was planned to delight the tiara-and-sash clad Dellemonache. During the festivities, Lawrence Twp. Mayor Christopher Bobbitt presented a Proclamation honoring her milestone birthday. The center’s leadership team, including Jenelle “Jay” Onyenemezu, executive vice president of the Lawrence campus, gave her a beautiful floral arrangement.

“Carmela is the life of any party – always has been!” said Lawrence Rehab’s Debbie Conroy, director of life enrichment, who planned the celebration with Dellemonache’s niece, Ann Marie Borsdorf. “She has a smile for everyone, brightening any room she enters. It is our true honor to have Carmela here with us.”

Dellemonache, who has lived at Lawrence Rehab since January 2022, participates in many of the center’s enrichment activities, happy to stay on the move and connect with others. The centenarian finds great strength in her Catholic faith, regularly attending mass and receiving Communion.

Born and raised in North Plainfield, Dellemonache graduated from North Plainfield High School. She met James, the love of her life, at a dance, and the pair were married for 49 years before his passing. They settled in Pennington, where he was the chief of police and she worked as a labeler at the Cointreau Distillery; Dellemonache stayed in Pennington for 65 years and has cherished memories of her time there, as well as of vacations in Florida with James.

The proud aunt of eight nieces and nephews, Dellemonache has always been very involved in their lives, welcoming all into her home for meals. In younger years, she enjoyed finding new recipes and cooking dinners for family and friends.

Located at 1 Bishops Drive, the 120-bed Lawrence Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center provides post-hospital, short-term rehab and long-term residential care. It is part of the 40-acre Lawrence Healthcare Campus, which also includes acute and short-term subacute care at Lawrence Rehabilitation Hospital, cottage-style skilled nursing at The Meadows at Lawrence and assisted living at The Terraces at Lawrence.