Lydia Principato
Age - 85
November 19, 2023
Lydia Romanoff Principato passed away peacefully in her home in Manahawkin, New Jersey on November 13, 2023 just shy of her 86th birthday. Born on December 23, 1937 in Ukraine, Lydia had a challenging start to life. At only four years old, Lydia's life and family were forever changed when Nazi troops invaded the Soviet Union during WWII. What followed was nothing short of incomprehensible as Lydia and her family fought to survive. In the years that followed, Lydia lost her father, was forced into an orphanage while her mother was sick, watched as her two younger siblings lost their battles with hunger and sickness, and narrowly escaped dying from starvation herself. With no home and no belongings to their name, Lydia, her mother, and her older brother, Peter, trekked across the Galicia region working as farm laborers until seeking refuge in Austria in 1945. Finally, on October 29, 1951, Lydia and her family escaped to freedom in the U. S. She recalled the moment she caught her first glimpse of America from the deck of the boat, describing the experience as "the most glorious feeling. "More than 70 years later, Lydia echoed the same sentiment she first felt arriving to this country, saying that the U. S. is truly the greatest place on earth. After all, the U. S. is where her family finally found safety and security, and it's also the place where she met the love of her life, Elio Principato, and started a family of their own. They had three sons, Armand, Elio, and Riccardo. After raising their family, first in New Brunswick then in Hillsborough, Lydia and Elio retired to Manahawkin, where they lived out the rest of their lives. When she wasn't watching game shows, reading, spending time with her children and grandchildren, or solving puzzles, Lydia was living it up in Atlantic City with her neighbors and friends. In retirement, Lydia worked part time at the customer service counter at the local ShopRite, where she formed tight bonds with several coworkers, some of which became very special friends. She also made friends with her neighbors at Perry's Lake. These two groups of friends always looked out for her, especially towards the end. Lydia will also be remembered for her unmatched cooking abilities, with her famous meat sauce and artichoke recipes being family favorites. A survivor to the end, Lydia insisted on cooking her own meals and taking care of herself independently up to her last day. Lydia is predeceased by her husband Elio Principato, her mother Nina Resanow, her brother Peter Romanoff, her sister Mary Romanoff Beloy, and another brother and sister who each passed away during the war. She is survived by her three children and their wives, Armand and Nancy Principato of Dade City, FL, Elio and Stephanie Principato of Jamesburg, NJ, and Riccardo and Jean Principato of Robbinsville, NJ; as well as her seven grandchildren Eric, Michelle, Alena, David, Christa, Robert, and Joseph. Lydia will be interred beside her husband at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey.Show more
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