08/08/2025
Anne R. Zando Obituary
Anne Zando passed away on Friday evening, July 25, 2025 at Somerset Woods Care Center in Franklin Township. She was 110 years old, passing just hours shy of her 111th birthday.
Born Anna Stierli on July 26, 1914 in Muri, Canton Aargau, Switzerland, Anne came to the United States at the age of sixteen, and lived in Hudson County, New Jersey most of her life.
Anne worked as a waitress at the famous Swiss Chalet Restaurant for some time, and was ultimately employed as a talented embroiderer in Union City, where she skilfully and proudly worked until she retired. She was a longtime parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Union City and would frequently volunteer her time to the church.
Anne was an avid music lover and a talented yodeler, singer, accordion player and even dabbled as a harmonica player later in life. She was a member of both the Swiss Singing Society and the German Singing Society for many years, which she loved dearly. Anne greatly enjoyed listening to opera and symphony music, as well as show tunes, and contemporary classics her entire life. She was also a skilled cook of Swiss Germanic dishes who closely guarded the recipes she could execute from memory. Her family especially loved her spaetzle and delicious wine-infused sauces.
She enjoyed traveling, and took numerous trips around the United States. She also frequently traveled back to Switzerland to visit her cousins, nieces and nephews who loved and kept in touch with her always.
Anne was a lifelong N.Y. Giants fan. She looked forward to football season every year and watching her beloved Giants play, win or lose. She even had her own fan in former Giants wide receiver Stephen Baker "the touchdown maker", who visited her several times after learning that a centenarian in Somerset, New Jersey was a Giants fan.
She was a loving and supportive mother to her only son, Frank, and a proud grandmother to her three grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. She lived through WWI, WWII, The Great Depression, recessions, accidents and illnesses and kept a positive attitude through it all. She lived alone past the age of 100, walking every day and cooking delicious meals for herself. She was a loved and respected resident at Somerset Woods for the last 9 years of her life and will be missed there. Anne will be remembered for her love, humor, talent and her remarkable longevity by her family, who love her and will miss her.
Anne was predeceased by her husband Anselmo Zando. She was also predeceased by her son, Frank Edward Catalina and her brothers Adolf and Joseph Stierli, her nephew Joseph Stierli and her niece Franny Stierli.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Ellen Catalina, her grandchildren Ellen Catalina and her husband Don Brenner, Laura Johnson and her husband Bill, and Frank TM Catalina and his wife Karen, and her great-grandchildren Sasha, Shamus, Harvey, Sean, Ryan, Ben, Claire and Frankie. She is also survived by her nephews and nieces, Willi Sierli, Doris Rohrer Stierli, Gret Dillier Stierli, and Heidi Dillier Stierli.
A funeral mass will take place on Saturday, September 6th 2025 - 10:00 AM at St. Matthias Church, Somerset, NJ. Services are under the direction of Gleason Funeral Home 1360 Hamilton Street in Somerset.
