08/15/2021
It’s with a heavy heart that I write this that our mother, Antoinette (Gaeta) “Toni” Agliata, passed away peacefully on August 8, 2021, after a long illness. Toni was the inspiration to the Lavallette Breast Cancer Walk and its foundation, The “Tone” Foundation, which hosted over 1000 participants this past August 1 in its 18th Annual Walk, raising nearly $35,000 this year alone. Toni was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1930 and then moved with her family to Garwood, NJ, in the mid-1940s. She graduated from Springfield Regional High School Class 1949. Toni worked in a department store after high school and then met and married Vincent G. Agliata. They lived in Rahway, NJ, where they raised three boys. Antoinette worked as a Teacher’s Aide and as an expert Soup Cook in the local high schools. In true Jersey girl fashion, she eventually moved closer to the beach to Manahawkin, NJ, where she continued to love her work with students, and provide care to so many others. A role model for kindness, she always greeted you with a smile, a hug, and food. She loved to cook, especially Italian food, and spent as much time as she could with her family. An avid and prolific knitter, she made many beautiful creations for her family and friends. Antoinette is predeceased by her husband, Vincent G. Agliata, and a daughter-in-law, Elaine Gouras. Three sons and three daughters-in-law survive her. Her sons, Vincent T. Agliata (Kathleen Pavlakis) Thomas Agliata (Doreen Baribee-Agliata) and Robert T. Agliata (Josephine Sessa-Agliata). She also leaves behind six grandchildren. Peter (Emily Kister), Katharine, Ethan, Leah, Vincent, and Chaz. Services and burial will be private.
