IT WAS A PART OF MY WHOLE LIFE
Mary Garip, then Mary Catherine Anderson, remembers a chilhhood of playtime at St. Josephs Village. She and her husband visited the site in 1992 with a video camera. Perhaps she was a bit shy about venturing to ask to go inside as all the video is shot outisde.
Having been only nine years old at the end of her stay, Mary does her best to recall the buildings and her life at the Village. After so many years, it is understandable that some of her descriptions need clarification.
The first building Mary refers to as a cottage was actually the Infirmary. She states that her sister was in this one. She more likely was a Senior and stayed in the cottage on the other side of the hall from the infirmary which Mary correctly identifies later in the movie. The camera pans to what she says was her cottage. That one, "B", was the actually the Administration Building. Beyond it we see the Chapel. The buildings today are identified by letters. Just after she mentions the woods, we see the rear wall of the Barbara Givernaud Cottage. We see the Junior Girls Cottage at the point where she talks about waiting for a family to take the children away. When she talks about the burlap tent she built, we see the Intermediate Girls Cottage. Here is where Nancy stayed. Her menory gets better when she correctly states that her sister was in what is now building "K" which was the Senior Girls Cottage. At the point where she talks about orphans from all over Bergen County, we see Mother Evangelista School and the Gymnasium building. Further down the road we see the three boy's cottages starting with the Junior Boys. Although she states that she left the Village at age five, she did leave at age nine in 1968.
Click the play button and join Mary on her memory tour. This is a large video file and may take a few minutes to load on slower connections.
Memorium
Mary has since passed away due to heart failure and we remember her with the following message from her husband, Fernando Garip, who has so gratefully contributed to this website in her memory. Fernando Garip, husband of Mary Catherine Garip (Maiden name, Anderson), informed us that Mary recently passed away and wanted her Village alumni community to be informed. He wrote, "Please pray for her — she is in a better place now — being held as she wanted to be as a child. She was fulfilled with her family — three beautiful children and her husband. Her funeral was a testament to her life during which she attained what she wanted more than anything — a home. At the time of filming, Mary was expecting our first child, Fernando Nicholas Garip III - born 5/12/92. He was followed by twins in 1995, Alexandra Catherine (looks just like Mary), and Philip Michael. "Please keep her memory alive — St. Joseph's Village was her Savior." -Fernando Garip ObituaryGARIP Mary Catherine, 47, on Sat. March 31, 2007 of Hackensack, NJ. Born in Hoboken to George and Catherine Millea Morris Anderson. After her baptism, Mary and her sister, Patricia, went to the St. Joseph's Village Catholic Orphanage, Rockleigh, NJ. At the age of nine, Mary met her foster parents, Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Quercia of Paramus, NJ, with whom she stayed until adulthood. A graduate of Paramus High (1977) and Berkeley College, White Plains, NY (1979). Beloved wife of 21 years to Fernando. Devoted mother of Fernando III, Philip and Alexandra. Loving daughter of Lillian Quercia. Daughter-In-Law of Dr. Fernando Garip.Sister-in-law of Virginia Comer, Christine Varelas and Patricia Bertuol. Funeral from the Trinka-Faustini Funeral Service, 439 Maywood Ave., Maywood, NJ (201-487-3050) at 9:15 AM on Wed. Apr. 4, 2007. Funeral Mass at 10 AM at Our Lady of the Visitation, Fairview Ave.Paramus. Burial to follow at St. Mary's Cemetery, Saddle Brook. Visiting Tues. 3-5, 7-9 PM. Donations may be made in her name to the Holy Trinity Church, Hackensack or Our Lady of the Visitation, Paramus. Published in The Record and Herald News on 4/2/2007. |
