Obituary of Jacqueline Oancea

Jacqueline (nee Merkel, Reilly) Oancea, 56, of Wayne NJ, died Monday, September 28, 2009.A Staff Engineer at Siemens Health Care Diagnostics, she was born in Clifton and lived most of her life in Oakland, NJ. She attended William Paterson University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and received her B.A. in Theater Arts. She began working as an actress and was featured in roles on stage, screen and television. Looking for a change in career, she returned to Ramapo College, where she worked to obtain a degree and still support and care for her son, Nicholas, as a single mother. After moving into software development, she worked for various companies before meeting her husband Radu. The two were married on April 10, 1999, and lived in Lincoln Park before moving to Wayne, where she lived happily until she finished out her all too brief life. In her final days, she expressed how happy she was to be loved by her friends and family and how proud she was of her son's first byline in Newsweek Magazine.Her loving persona and unique sense of humor will be remembered by her husband, Radu; son, Nicholas and long-time girlfriend Mara; mother, Agnes; sister, Deirdre; brother, Rory and girlfriend, Linda; Father-in-law, Gabriel; sister-in-law, Oana and many close cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Visiting hours will be Friday from 2-4 & 7-10 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-12:00 NoonA Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday at 12:30 pm at St. Mary's R.C. Church, 17 Pompton Ave, Pompton Lakes.Interment will be in Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa. Memorials in Jacqueline's name may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905