Obituary of Carmela Toscano

Carmela "Cam" Misuriella Toscano, of Hackensack, died on Sunday. As a life long educator and musician, Cam has spent her career tending to the curious minds and energetic souls of school age children. For more than 25 years, Cam worked in the New Jersey School system, serving as a career education projection coordinator for the Hackensack schools, as a fourth and fifth grade teacher for the Westfield schools, and as a third grade teacher and music instructor for the Haworth schools. A firm believer in the import of developing skills for life, Cam was instrumental in developing the Career Education Program for the Hackensack schools. In this program, children learn about careers through guest speakers and field trips to exciting new places, they may not have had an opportunity to see if it had not been for her vision and direction. A world brimming with newly discovered beauty and opportunity is suddenly within a child's grasp as she or he is introduced to the opera, art galleries, museums, hospitals, factory, and professional offices in and around New York City. But field trips were not a purely visual feast for Cam's students. She would often take them behind the scenes to discover the complex network of expertise which made everything they had just seem an experienced so successful. A favorite among students was a backstage educational tour of New York's magnificent opera house. Cam has shared her tremendous gift of music with children and adults alike, never turning down an opportunity to volunteer her talents and time. Throughout her career, she has enjoyed leadership positions with various community organizations, such as the Fairmount School P.T.A, the Bergen Catholic High School Mother's Auxiliary, the Hackensack Elks Auxiliary, and the Hackensack College Club. She was a graduate of the New Jersey State Teachers College of Newark and was the recipient of Doctor of Humane Letters at Felician College in Lodi. She is currently a trustee of Holy Trinity R. C. Church of Hackensack where she serves as a Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Pastoral Council Member, Rosarian and a member of the Trinity Leisure Club, and also served as a volunteer project coordinator, librarian, and accompanist for Holy Trinity School in Hackensack where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Several years earlier she was inducted into the Bergen Catholic High School Hall of fame. She was a benefactor to the Hackensack University Medical Center and was a member of the Hackensack University Medical Center Auxiliary. As a teacher, Cam claimed the gift of discipline. She was known for the strict rules of behavior. She expected in her classroom and for the open environment of learning that flourished because of it. She loved teaching children and opening their minds to new and unimagined experiences. Her legacy as a master teacher will serve as an inspiration for the Teacher Education Majors of Felician College and her advocacy of quality student learning will resound in the classrooms of Carmela Toscano Hall for years to come. She was a women of faith. Nothing or no one can ever separate from the Love of God and irrevocable commitment to the things of God. Cam was born into a family of faith and has continued her personal journey of faith with unusual strength. These are the qualities which made her a remarkable women, a remarkable teacher, and an even more remarkable mother. All that she was is very much a part of what her children have become...a people of faith. She planted the seeds of faith, hope, courage, and compassion in every life she touched. Predeceased by her husband Samuel Toscano Sr. who died in 1970, she is survived by her daughter Sandra Keary and her husband Deacon Michael of Hackensack, her son Samuel Toscano Jr. and his wife Barbara of Hackensack, a sister, Lillian Lago of Brick, two sister in laws, Florence Misurell of Tinton Falls, and Florence Toscano of Hackensack. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday at 10 AM at Holy Trinity R. C. Church, 34 Maple Avenue, Hackensack, with burial following at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Hackensack. Visiting will be Tuesday evening from 7 - 9 PM and Wednesday 2 - 4 and 7 - 9 PM . Memorial donations to the Samuel Toscano Sr. Memorial Fund would be appreciated.