Paula Rubenacker (nee Montalbano), age 45 of Wayne, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday, November 29, 2021.
Paula was a School Social Worker and Guidance Counselor at Washington Elementary School in Wyckoff and devoted her entire professional career to helping others.
Paula’s family was, of course, everything to her. Paula and I were high school sweethearts. We met at DePaul as freshmen and within a short time became best friends. It was almost uncanny how we shared so many common interests such as our taste in music (except I wasn't the biggest fan of the Violent Femmes as much as Paula was!), movies, concerts, travel, and, of course, Disney. Anything Disney!
Paula was a Disney fanatic, right down to our Disney themed Christmas tree and a membership in the Disney Vacation Club. We took countless family vacations to Disney World annually for the last twenty-five years, and sometimes more than once a year! This past summer, we went to the Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii, then visited Disney Land in California on our layover back home (because why not?)! Paula could never have too much Disney in her life and that passion for “the mouse” spread quickly to our children. Paula and I also enjoyed family vacations to Lake George, Myrtle Beach, and Fourth of July which was often spent with our family in Ohio.
Paula's favorite season of the year was Thanksgiving through Christmas. We often hosted holiday dinners and loved having a houseful of family, friends, happiness, love, and great food (a trait she picked up from her mother and grandmother).
Paula’s sudden and tragic loss comes with a great deal of sadness, but there is a ray of sunshine to brighten this story. Paula’s life was spent helping others thru her profession and she was always very supportive of being an organ donor, especially since her mother was a kidney recipient many years ago after bouts with kidney disease. Through this tragedy, her own gifts of life are already helping others. With the help of the dedicated staff at The NJ Sharing Network, Paula’s loss has given life and hope to others. It is hard to imagine a more loving, a more kind, or a more selfless act than this.
Paula is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Matthew and their two children, Lea and Eryn of Wayne, her father, Bernard Montalbano of Little Falls, her brother, Mark Montalbano and his wife Mary Ann of Wayne, her parents-in-law, Carl and Jackie Rubenacker, sisters in law Dawn Alvarez and husband Jose and Joline Mascis and husband Peter, all of Hawthorne, as well as, brother-in-law Shawn Rubenacker and his wife Annamarie of Newfoundland, in addition to many loving nieces, nephews, and countless dear friends. She was predeceased by her beloved mom, Patricia Montalbano, in October 2020.
Paula's life and death continue to provide constant reminders of how we can better the lives of others in many ways. Organ donation is a selfless act that one can bestow on others to allow them to continue their lives…for themselves, for their family, for others.
