Elsa M. Schneider, formerly of Essex Fells, passed away very peacefully at the Green Hill Retirement Home in West Orange on January 24, 2011. She was 110 years old. Born Elsa Mathilda Friederich in Brooklyn, N.Y. on August 7, 1900, she was one of the oldest persons in New Jersey.
Her early childhood was spent in Verona, and then with relatives in Germany, as her mother passed on at an early age. After her father remarried, she and her sister returned to Verona.
As was common in those days, she only completed grammar school. Her first and only job was as a telephone operator in the West Essex area. She and the late Christian F. Schneider were married in Verona in 1926 and moved to Jersey City, where their two children were born. The family then moved to Essex Fells where they resided for many years.
Mrs. Schneider is survived by her son Christian F. Schneider in Duxbury, Mass.; five grandchildren Karen Pastuszak, Linda DeRoo, Christian F. Schneider III, Carolyn Flanders and Christian E. Pedersen. Also 11 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren. Mrs. Schneider was predeceased by her daughter Elsa S. Pedersen and her granddaughter Patricia L. Schneider.
A private memorial service will be held later this spring.
