Lois Mercadante Ewing, 82, formerly of South Orange, passed away at home in Lady Lake, FL on June 24, 2025.
Lois grew up in South Orange, NJ, where she graduated from Columbia High School, Class of 1960. Her mother, Anne Verducci, CHS Class of 1935, owned a hair salon in South Orange when she died in 1955 at age 38. Her father, Anthony Mercadante, passed in 1992.
Lois began her career straight out of high school, working in the steno pool at Bell Laboratories. She retired 27 years later as a manager at AT&T. Lois met her husband, Phil, on a Bell Labs ski trip. They lived in Somerville, NJ until 1991, before moving to Orlando, FL. Lois and Phil had been married for 50 years when he passed in 2014.
Lois is survived by her son, Anthony, and daughter-in-law, Elda, of Maplewood; three grandchildren – Samantha, Joshua, and Gabriela (also CHS graduates); brothers Fred and Anthony; sister-in-law Christine; niece Maddie; and stepmother Patricia.
An informal memorial gathering for family and friends will take place on Saturday, July 26 th, from 12 pm to 2:30 pm, at the Laurel Manor Recreation Center (1985 Laurel Manor Drive, Lady Lake, FL).
To honor Lois, her family welcomes donations in her name to the ACLU (www.aclu.org), the Immigrant Defense Project (www.immigrantdefenseproject.org), or another organization defending Constitutional and human rights for all.
About the Author
