Elizabeth (Chesney) Pagani

Elizabeth “Betty” Pagani (nee Chesney), 85, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville, NJ.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Thiele-Reid Family Funeral Home, 585 Belgrove Drive, Kearny, NJ on Sunday, March 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. The funeral will begin in the funeral home on Monday morning, March 9 at 9:00 a.m. then to St. Stephen’s R.C. Church, Kearny where a 10:00 a.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum, North Arlington, NJ.

Born in Elizabeth, NJ Betty has lived in Kearny for the last seventy years.

She was secretary for the Salvation Army in Union, NJ for twenty-five years before retiring in 2006.

St. Stephen’s Church in Kearny was a very important part of her life. She was a member of the Rosary Alter Society and served as a Eucharistic Minister , a Trustee and was a member of the Social Concerns Committee.

Betty is survived by her beloved children, Mary Casanovas and her husband, John, John Pagani and his partner, Jacqueline Kondel, Christine Drake and her husband, Jay, Jeanne Hatfield and her husband Steven and her sister, Rita Chesney. She was the adoring grandmother of Joseph Casanovas (Christine), Matthew Casanovas (Juliet), Steven Drake (Elizabeth), Julia Drake, Katie Drake, Evan Pagani (Ashley), Sarah Pagani, Ethan Pagani, Mikayla Hatfield, Jason Hatfield and Ian Hatfield. She was the mother-in-law of Claudia Pagani.

Mrs. Pagani was predeceased by her husband, Julius Pagani, her son Thomas Pagani, her sister, Eileen Wiegleb and her brother, Ronald Chesney.

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