Concetta Judith (Appignani) Bongiovanni

Concetta “Connie” Judith Appignani Bongiovanni, a lifelong resident of Highland Park, New Jersey, passed away surrounded by the love of her family.

Connie was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and moved to Highland Park in 1942 at the age of four. She proudly called Highland Park home for 87 years.

After graduating from Highland Park High School, Connie remained close with her classmates, serving on her reunion committee and hosting lunches filled with laughter and reminiscing.

In 1959, Connie married her devoted husband, Santo Bongiovanni. Together, they purchased a home in Highland Park and raised three children. Connie was deeply committed to her community. When she witnessed discrimination in local schools, she applied for an open position on the Highland Park Board of Education and was appointed. During her tenure from 1973 to 1980, she played an influential role in integrating the school district as mandated by the state. She later won two consecutive terms on the board and also served on the Middlesex County Election Board. In 2019 she was inducted into the Highland Park High School Alumni Hall of fame.

She began her career at Mar-Fred Cabinet Company and later worked in her parents’ dress factory, Yolanda Dress, in New Brunswick. Connie pursued higher education at Middlesex County College and Middlesex County Vocational Technical School, becoming a licensed cosmetologist. She worked in several beauty salons before joining Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Products Company as a Hair and Skin Technologist in their testing laboratory. Her passion for education led her to earn a teaching certificate from Trenton State College, after which she taught cosmetology at Middlesex County Vocational Technical School. Connie found great joy in helping young people develop expertise in hair and skin care.

In her youth, Connie studied voice, acting, and piano at the Star Allen TV Studio in New York City under Dr. Marie Moser. She sang at Carnegie Hall and appeared on the Paul Whiteman TV Teen Club in Philadelphia.

Beyond her professional and community accomplishments, Connie’s greatest love was her family. She cherished time spent cooking and hosting gatherings, creating countless memories around the table. Summers at the family’s Long Beach Island home and winters in Florida with Santo were among her happiest times. Her beach house was her sanctuary, where she delighted in being surrounded by her children and grandchildren.

Connie is survived by her children: Maria Bongiovanni; Robert Bongiovanni and his wife Laura; and Yolanda Bongiovanni Fusco and her husband Brennan. She leaves behind six beloved grandchildren: Rose Marie Corbet, Richard Monson Corbet III, Sophia Bongiovanni, Justin Santo Fusco, Cassidy Ann Fusco, and Concetta Marie Fusco. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Michelina Appignani, her dear cousin Rita Capone, and many nieces and nephews whom she loved and cherished.

She was predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Santo Bongiovanni (2025); her parents, Pietro and Rose Appignani; and her brothers Stephen, Lorenzo (and his wife Ann), Michael, and Theodore (and his wife Therese).

Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend her visitation at the Jaqui Funeral Home, 17 S. Adelaide Avenue, Highland Park, NJ on Monday from 3 pm to 7 pm. A Mass of the Christian Burial will be offered at 11;30 am at St. Mary’s Church, 198 Sandford St, New Brunswick. Entombment will immediately follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Piscataway.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, kindly make a donation to Disabled American Veterans, Shriners Children’s Hospital, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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