Obituary of Jacquelin A Cocozza

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Jacquelin Anne Cocozza announces her passing.

Jacquelin was the second of five children born to Helen Mary (McCarthy) Kirk and Arthur Francis Kirk, Sr., of Linden, NJ.

On an academic scholarship, Jacquelin – known to most as “Jackie” – attended Mount St. Dominic Academy (“The Mount”) in Caldwell, NJ, where she graduated with high honors and was President of her class and President of the Student Council. In the 1962 edition of Lumen, the Mount’s yearbook, it was written: “The Monarchy has its King and Queen, the Democracy has its President, and the Mount has its Jackie”. This is indicative of the profoundly positive impact Jacquelin had in her every walk of life.

After the Mount, Jacquelin attended Newark State College (now Kean University) in Union, NJ, where she also graduated with high honors. Upon graduation she taught mathematics in the Elizabeth, NJ and Cranford, NJ public school systems. With the Vietnam War raging, creating a dearth of employable young men, the Prudential Insurance Company put out a call to recruit women with skills in mathematics to train to be programmers in the nascent days of computer software. Jacquelin answered the call and made a career at “the Pru”, an institution and body of people she deeply loved and respected, over the next quarter-century plus, taking early retirement at the age of 50 as an Executive Vice President – making her one of, if not the most highly promoted woman in Prudential’s history at that time, then a company of over 60,000 employees.

Jacquelin not only broke the glass ceiling, she shot through it like a cannonball, in the process supporting, mentoring and promoting everyone around her. Jacquelin’s rising tide was a rising tide for all, one that lifted all boats, not just hers. Those who knew her, know this was her way, from the cradle to the grave; this was Jacquelin.

The best thing that happened to Jacquelin at the Pru, however, was not the extraordinary arc of her professional success, rather it was that at the Pru Jackie met Joe (Joseph M. Cocozza ) who became the love of her life, best friend, soulmate, and husband for nearly thirty-four years, until Joe’s untimely death in 2006, a loss from which she never quite fully recovered.

Jacquelin was smart, strong, stubborn, hard-working, loving, loyal, gracious, and generous in every sense of the word. With unparalleled integrity, courage, and conviction, she always, always, did what was right – by family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors alike. As a result, she was a shining pillar to her family, and collected dear, loyal, loving friends everywhere she went – from Linden where she was raised, the Mount, Newark State College, the Pru, and neighbors in Randolph, Somerset, and Long Beach Island.

Jacquelin is survived by her brother, Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., and his wife, Beverly, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, and her brother John R. Kirk, Sr. and his wife, Amy, of South Orange, NJ. Additionally, she is survived by many loving cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, God Children, and dozens of close friends. Jacquelin was preceded in death by her brother, Edward (“Eddie”) Kirk; mother, Helen; father, Arthur; husband, Joe; and sister, Mary Ann (Kirk) Jones.

In Jacquelin’s own words: “I want all my friends and family to know I had a wonderful life. I was blessed with great parents, a wonderful childhood, a loving family, great friends, a successful career, and was married to my best friend, the greatest guy in the world. It doesn’t get any better than that”.

Indeed, Jacquelin, it doesn’t get any better than that. None-the-less, we will all miss you so.

In accordance with Jacquelin’s wishes, the Funeral Liturgy will be offered Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 11 AM at Resurrection Parish, 651 Millbrook Avenue, Randolph, NJ, 07869. The memorial visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 20th, from 5 PM to 7 PM, at the Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 Highway 10, Randolph, NJ, 07869 (Tuttlefh.com). A private inurnment for immediate family only will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, 12 Wall St., 19th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005; or the Family Outreach Foundation, 5 Wilson Street, Mendham, NJ, 07945; or the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation, 1409 Sperling Ave. Burnaby, BC V5B 4J8.