10/06/2026
Lori was a long time CV resident ๐๐ผ
๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ & ๐๐จ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ก๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐น
๐๐ก ๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐
๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ก๐ข ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ
I meant to stop by OโLearyโs yesterday for the Lori Sorrentino Hennessy Scholarship Fundraiser. I didnโt make it, but seeing Loriโs name and people coming together in her memory took me right back to what I wrote about her years ago.
Fundraisers are meant to raise money. We all understand that. But sometimes what matters just as much is remembering the person whose name brought everybody together in the first place.
And especially during Italian Heritage & Culture Month, I think it is important to remember an Italian woman from our neighborhood who will never be forgotten by the people who knew and loved her.
Lori was a Jersey City educator, a wife, a mother, a friend and somebody who gave so much of herself to children. During her battle with cancer, my old high school friend and her husband Mark โHondoโ Hennessy battled right alongside her.
Back then, I called them a dynamic duo. I wrote if somebody ever wanted to make the next โLove Story,โ Mark and Lori had already written an Oscar-worthy script.
Years later, her family and friends are still making sure Loriโs legacy lives on. Yesterdayโs scholarship fundraiser at OโLearyโs was another example of it.
The scholarship is part of Loriโs story now. Young people will continue their education with help carrying her name. Her daughters get to see people still come together for their mother. Friends and family get another chance to tell a Lori story, laugh about something she did and remember the woman they loved.
When Lori passed, I wrote she won her battle because cancer never took her passion for life. It never took her love for her daughters, Mark, her students or the countless people whose lives she touched.
Years later, I wouldnโt change those words.
So while I didnโt make it to OโLearyโs yesterday, I wanted to make sure I took a moment to say her name.
During Italian Heritage & Culture Month, The Hudson County Chronicles remembers one of our own.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐.
Continue to Rest with the Angels, Lori.
Your neighborhood, familt, friends, and students haven't forgotten you.
๐ฎ๐นโค๏ธ
