Obituary of Shirley Marie Restivo

Shirley Restivo was born on April 8, 1926 to Katinka (VonHamburg Werner) and Horace Young in Ocean City, New Jersey. She died on August 8, 2018 in Newton Memorial Hospital from complications of pneumonia. She was surrounded by her family. She met her husband Carl in Philadelphia, while he was attending medical school. They married and moved to Jersey City where, after graduation, her husband Dr. Carl A. Restivo, M.D. practiced family medicine from 1949 until his retirement in 1986. They remained married from 1945 until her death, a total of 74 years. In 1986 they moved to Warwick, New York and Naples, Florida, where they resided for the next 10 years, only to return to Hamburg, New Jersey at Crystal Springs where she lived with her beloved husband Carl for the remainder of her life.

She is the mother of Dr. Carl Restivo, a rheumatologist practicing in Jersey City, and his wife Lana; and of Dr. Adrian Restivo Levitt, a counselor in Long Branch, New Jersey, and her late husband Albert.

In early 1965 Shirley developed a lifelong love of the double bass viol and studied with Gary Karr, the great classical bassist. When Gary agreed to take her on as a beginner student, she studied many hours a day until she was able to join the Jersey City Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Wayne Symphony and Livingston Philharmonic as a member of their bass section. Gary Karr and pianist Harmon Lewis remained livelong friends. When Gary founded the International Society of Bassists and she was honored to have served on the board of directors of the foundation until her recent illness. Throughout the years, Shirley and Carl donated many fine instruments to the Society for use by aspiring and promising double bass students.

Shirley was also an accomplished painter who studied at the New School in New York City with Manfred Schwartz and eventually instructed others in art. Though not Italian by birth, she studied the Italian language diligently and became fluent in Italian.

Shirley Restivo is the proud and loving grandmother of Sandra Pound, Jason Bell, Batya Van Nostrand, Etana Kempner, Carl Restivo, Carin Got, and Diana Kucko. She is also blessed with 19 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her music, art and language skills, Shirley loved traveling with her husband and friends. She and Carl travelled extensively including trips to China, Russia, Egypt, and most of the countries of Europe and South America. Earlier in their life they loved cruising the Caribbean with their friends. She also enjoyed sharing time with her grandchildren.

She will be remembered. as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and for her wit, and level-headed wisdom, generosity, and love. She will be missed by all who knew her.

Friends are welcome to attend the memorial Mass on Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Consolation R.C. Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne. There was a private cremation.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in honor of Shirley Restivo to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105 www.stjude.org.