Connie Hnat passed away on April 7, 2022. She leaves behind family and friends whom she loved beyond measure and who loved and cherished her dearly.
Connie Hnat was born Constance Ann Shea on September 7, 1939 in Elizabeth, NJ. After their marriage in 1962, she and her husband Peter lived on Dayton Street in Elizabeth with their four children before moving to Berkeley Heights in 1971. She and Peter celebrated 60 years of marriage on January 27th.
Connie graduated from Battin High School in 1957. She worked at Adams Clothing store for many years and later at BOC Gases in New Providence. After they each retired, Connie and Pete moved to their summer home on Long Beach Island, snow birding in The Villages in Florida. Whether on LBI or in The Villages, together Pete and Connie were living their best life. On the island, she volunteered at St. Francis parish in Brant Beach and enjoyed mah-jongg, samba and weekly gatherings with friends. In The Villages she played more cards and mah-jongg, shuffleboard, and golf. Wherever they lived, her home was full of love and laughter, family, and dear friends. Her lifelong friends were like family, making her “Aunt Connie” to many. Her love, support, and pride in her children and grandchildren knew no bounds. She was ever-present in their lives.
Connie left this life as she lived it. Always busy; things to do, places to go, people to see, no time to waste! She put everyone else first – always. She is predeceased by her parents George and Anna Shea and her brothers Gerald and William Shea. She is survived by her siblings, Robert Shea, Mary Rooke and Ann Marie Shea; her sisters-in-law, Mary Hnat Shea, Liz Shea, and Annie Shea and many nieces and nephews and cousins. She is loved and remembered by her husband Peter, her daughters; Judy Hnat and wife Nancy Muniz; Jennifer Lombardi and husband Robert; Sandy Hnat Tichenor and husband Steve, her son Peter Hnat; and her grandchildren, Sarah, Nick, Ben, James, Sophie, Anna, and Theo.
The Hnat family will hold a celebration of life at St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island in May.
In honor of her memory, donations may be made to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of NJ @ www.naminj.org.
