Caroline Josephine Penczak, 92 of Brick, died on Friday, May 13.

She was born in Newark to the late Bronislaw and Lottie Stanislawski and raised in Elizabeth.  She attended Battin High School but was unable to complete her high school studies because she had to help her family during the depression.  She eventually completed training as a Beautician and owned her own Beauty Shop in Linden, where she and her husband raised their family.  She also studied professional baking and was renowned for making professional cakes for all occasions.  She loved to write poetry and sent a poem to General Schwarzkopfduring Desert Storm that he read and autographed for her.  Most of all, she loved spending time with her family.

Caroline was a very devout Catholic who never missed mass. Even after becoming homebound, she attended mass every morning on television and prayed the rosary for peace in our world and blessings on her family.  She taught CCD at St. John Vianney in Colonia and St. Theresa in Linden. She and her husband both donated time to their church and loved helping others.

Caroline loved to travel and traveled to Europe several times.  She, along with her husband and mother, visited many religious shrines like Fatima.  She particularly enjoyed traveling to Poland, Italy, and the Holy Land in Israel.  She also planned summer car trips for her family and they visited locations all over the United States.  She used the time to teach her children about the history of the US by visiting historic sites around our nation.

Caroline was predeceased by her loving husband, John Penczak.

Caroline is survived by her children Gregory and his wife Andrea Penczak of Colts Neck; Kenneth and his wife Donna Penczak of Colonia; and Lorraine and her husband John Buckley of Shrewsbury.  Her siblings Barbara Meeh, Bruno Stanislawski, Loretta Solt, and Joseph Stanislawski, nine beloved grandchildren Bryan, Ryan, Briana, Sean, Jessica, Nicole, Gregory, Samantha, and Gabriella, five great-grandchildren Summer, Ryan Jr., Sawyer, Jameson, and Eli, and many loving nieces and nephews.

Visitation Tuesday, May 17 from 2-4pm and 7-9pm at Holmdel Funeral Home, 26 S. Holmdel Road, Holmdel. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Wednesday, May 18 at 11am at St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church, Elizabeth. Burial to follow at St. Gertrude Cemetery, Colonia.

In lieu of traditional remembrances, Caroline’s family asks with gratitude that donations in her name be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) or EWTN Catholic television.

For messages of condolence, or to share a favorite memory of Caroline, please visit her tribute page at www.HolmdelFuneralHome.com