Olympia (Lee) Avolio

Olympia (Lee) Avolio, 91, of Jacksonville Florida, born April 16, 1931, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in Oceanport, New Jersey. Born Olympia Monterosso, in Brooklyn New York in 1931, to Josephine and Croce Monterosso, she lived most of her life in Brooklyn Heights, NY.

Lee attended St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School, St. Angela Hall Academy, and Prospect Heights High School where she focused on fashion.

In 1950 she married Gerald (Jerry) Avolio (Kafchinski) and settled in Brooklyn Heights.

She worked as a preschool teacher at Alfred T. White Community Center and at Grace Church in Brooklyn Heights where she continued to work for thirty years until she and Jerry left for retirement in Jacksonville, Florida to be near their daughter Joy.

Lee passed away at the home of her daughter Sharon in Oceanport, NJ, who cared for her over the past year. She is predeceased by her husband Gerald (Jerry) P. Avolio and her sister Vita Zarro. She is survived by her children, Gerald D. and his wife Patricia, of Santa Barbara, CA; Glenn and his wife Rosa, of Santa Barbara, CA; Sharon Holden and her husband Robert of Oceanport, NJ; Randal and his fiancé Joyce Noda, of Marietta, CA; Joy Connelly and her husband David of Jacksonville, FL; Ronald and his wife Eileen, of Mill Valley, CA; her grandchildren Paul Avolio and his wife Hallie, Alissa Parks and husband Brian, Kristen Mielczarek and her husband Aleks, Lindsay McGovern and her husband Jay, Matthew Avolio and his fiancé Kristina, Christopher Avolio, Mia Connelly, and her great grandchildren Liam, Sabrina, Gryphon, Christian, Dustin and Olivia.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital - https://www.stjude.org/ or Monmouth Medical Center Health Care Foundation, (Specify the Healthy Lives Program in comments under the Tribute gift tab) https://www.rwjbh.org/monmouth-medical-center/giving/give-now/ or mail checks to 300 Second Avenue, Long Branch, NJ 07740 with "Healthy Lives Program written in the memo section on your check.

A celebration of her life and that of husband Jerry will be planned for some time in November 2022 with more information to follow. The family invites you to leave a letter of condolence by selecting the Tribute/Guestbook link above. 

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