A Tribute to a Dedicated Worker

By Barbara Perone
These days, dedication to one’s job seems to be a thing of the past. But, in rare cases, some people never seems to skip a beat when it comes to work, no matter what happens in their personal lives – and 78 year-old Ella Filippone  seems to have been one of those people.
Though seriously ill from cancer, and undergoing grueling, simultaneous radiation and chemotherapy treatments, recently, Filippone only missed two days of work as Executive Director of the Passaic River Coalition, a position she held for an astounding 43 years. In the late 1960s, she and her husband, Joseph Filippone, Sr., created the coalition to ward off a proposed flood tunnel slated for the Passaic River basin.
Clean water, clean air, and keeping the Passaic River healthy were all high up on the list of priorities for Ella Filippone. But her work came to an abrupt halt, when, sadly, last month, this hard working woman lost her battle with cancer, according to her son, Joseph Filippone, Jr., a PSGCNJ member.
In addition to her work with the coalition, Joe’s mother also helped get the state to buy back 100 floor-prone homes, from residents in Wayne and Lincoln Park, by lobbying the state for funds from the Blue Acres program. Mrs. Filippone was also instrumental in helping to build a walkway along the Passaic River and securing park land in Lyndhurst.
Employees today have a lot to learn from the late Ella Filippone about dedication to the job and working hard to accomplish goals. For more information about Ella Filippone, please visit www.northjersey.com/news/ELLAMEMORIAL0714.html#sthash.cL73gjPm.dpuf.