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Individuals mentioned on Page 351: Helen Ciluzzi DeGerome, 21 June 1916 – 5 October 1999; Ralph Ciluzzi, Theresa Paterno, James H. DeGerome, MD
Addendum: Helen Ciluzzi DeGerome Summary by Donna DeGerome Raab
Helen Ciluzzi DeGerome was born on June 21, 1916 in New York City. She spent her childhood living in a house located on the Hudson River by the George Washington Bridge and facing the New Jersey Palisades. It was a three story house with beautiful open porches on several levels facing the Hudson. [9 Chittenden Avenue] The street address was Northern Avenue which is now called Cabrini Boulevard around 189th Street [340 & 344 Northern Avenue]. Several other family members, such as her grandmother Paterno, aunts, uncles and cousins lived in the same neighborhood. Consequently the family gathered together often. The tradition continued throughout her life. Northern Avenue was very rural at that time and was a very safe, beautiful place to live. Helen attended a private girls school, Barnard School for Girls from kindergarten through high school graduation in 1934. She went on to Briarcliff Junior College in Briarcliff Manor, New York and graduated in 1936. At that time Briarcliff was considered to be a “finishing school” where young ladies learned about home decorating, etiquette, along with basic language, history and math courses. She majored in Home Economics.
Growing up near her grandmother, Caroline [Carolina] Trivigno Paterno, a widow with ten children, was at times an adventure. Grandmother would arrive with her car and chauffeur to take the grandchildren for a drive often stopping for ice cream or a special treat. Helen remembered standing in front of the house wearing patent leather shoes and a straw hat all dressed up to go for a ride with her grandmother. She was approximately eight years old when her grandmother died so Helen’s memory of her is very sketchy.
Helen had a favorite aunt, Dorothy Schaefer Paterno [wife of Anthony A. Paterno], who never had any children, but she loved Helen and often would take her to lunch or into the city to attend musicals or go to a museum.
Several summers were spent at Barnard Camp for Girls on Lake Champlain where she enjoyed horseback riding , archery and water sports. Later in life she played golf at the Montclair Golf Club and Spring Lake Golf Club.
Her best friend at Briarcliff was Anlo McCosker who father was an executive at WOR radio. She spent many happy times with Anlo and met several WOR personalities. She also acted in plays at school.
The house on Northern Avenue had a beautiful garden in the backyard where every year her school class would be invited for lunch. In the yard was a playhouse and many other play things. Her father was very strict and would not let her play on the street or ride a bicycle far from their home.
Helen was the oldest child and she had two younger brothers, Ralph, Jr., and John. In the 1920’s up until the depression they had four in help at home – a cook, baby nurse, main and chauffeur.
Her two cousins, John and Joseph Faiella, lived next door [15 Chittenden Avenue]. They had many happy times playing together. The male cousins attended Barnard School for Boys along with Barnard Camp for Boys which was close to the girl’s camp on Lake Champlain. The boys were called Iroquois and the two camps held dances together on Saturday night. The girls wore serge bloomers, white blouses and green ties. The last year that Helen was there they decided to allow the girls to wear dresses. “We were never able to go out alone as we were always chaperoned.” There were school dances held all over New York City at different hotels. Graduation exercises from Barnard were always held in the Crystal Room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Dancing classes were held there too.
When Helen was older, she went out to the Rye Amusement Park or the Gauten House where she drank beer and sang German songs with friends. She went to Cab Calloway’s, The Cotton Club and the Stork Club where her friends and she danced to band music and watch “floor shows.”
In 1929 when the stock market crashed Helen was thirteen years old and was insulated from the bread lines, suicides and other repercussions caused by the market crash. Members of her family were affected by it, except for her uncle, Dr. Charles V. Paterno, who was very generous to his brothers and sisters.
Helen’s father, Ralph, decided to return to Italy where he purchased a large piece of property and built a villa on the top of a mountain in the village of Staletti, Province of Catanzaro overlooking the Ionian Sea. The style of villa was unique at that time as it was all on one level, similar to our “ranch” design except that they built it out of local stone and it had a tower with an outside stairway leading to it. The tower was named “Torre Helena” – the Tower of Helen after his daughter. The view was spectacular. He planted olive trees on the property and even built a tennis court for Helen and her brothers to use during their visits with him. Unfortunately Theresa and Ralph decided to divorce. The boys were sent to school in Italy while Helen continued to live and go to school in New York City. During those years she made many trips by luxury ocean liners to visit her father in Italy during her vacation from school.
Helen Ciluzzi met Doctor James DeGerome during a summer vacation at Spring Lake, New Jersey. They were married on October 1, 1938. They drove to Florida for their honeymoon, which was the State where they ended up spending their final years. they were married for sixty years and their ashes are buried in Boynton Beach, Florida.
In 1938 they purchased 10 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge, New Jersey where Jim set up his general family medical practice. The office was in the house and the fees were $2.00 per office visit and $3.00 for a house call. His practice was interrupted by World War II during which he did a tour of duty in the Navy for four years. He was a Senior Lieutenant and saved enough money to keep the house in Glen Ridge.
Their first child, James Henry, III, was born on May 11, 1940 and second child, Donna Theresa, born November 9, 1943.
For the last six months of his Navy duty, Helen and the children moved to Norfolk, Virginia to be with Jim. They drove back to New Jersey from Virginia and could only drive at 25 mph, because the automobile tires were old and couldn’t be replaced. This is just one example of the many shortages of goods during the war. People were given ration coupons to buy food and other items Times were very difficult for the general public, so they were furgal and hard working in order to live well. Jim resumed his practice where he continued his forty years of family medicine in Glen Ridge.
In 1956 they purchased 74 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge, New Jersey where they bult a new split level home with a complete medical office. When Jim retired in 1978, they sold the house and divided their time between their home on Chicago Boulevard in Sea Girt, New Jersey and a condominium at 86 MacFarlane Drive in Delray Beach, Florida. In the early 1990’s they made Delray Beach their permanent residence until their deaths in 1999.
Although Helen never was employed or received a paycheck, when she married Jim, she became the office bookkeeper and continued for the rest of her life keeping track of all of their financial affairs.
Helen loved her children and grandchildren and was quite a help to her daughter, Donna, by babysitting often for Donna’s sons Daniel, Eric and Steven.
Helen became a proficient homemaker overseeing the daily routine of her house, children and husband’s office. She loved to entertain, garden and cook. Helen and Jim had defined their roles and each worked tirelessly at achieving them. She always had a full course dinner ready for the family and had a cocktail waiting for Jim upon his arrival from work. Her home was immaculate and her organizational skills were reflected in everything that she did at home, at Jim’s office and her charity work, They were both devout Catholics and attended mass regularly. They traveled extensively and enjoyed more than sixty years of married, twenty-one years of retirement and the privilege of having great-grandchildren.
