BIOGRAPHY

Cucco was born in Guttenberg, New Jersey, on 28 April 1911 as the daughter of Domenick Casamento and Francesca DeAngelo.

At the age of 17, Cucco obtained a driver’s license. She earned a degree from Egan Business School. She later married George Cucco, with whom she had two daughters: Phyllis Pantano and Frances Craig. She worked as a seamstress until the age of 66 and then assisted her daughter Phyllis in running a children’s boutique in Point Pleasant. In 2001, at the age of 90, she retired.

In December 2020, at the age of 109, Cucco contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized. Prior to that, she had been living with her daughter, but she was subsequently moved to a long-term care facility in Toms River. A week later, she fell out of her wheelchair, suffered a head injury that required stitches, and was diagnosed with having had a stroke. When asked about the secret to her longevity, she attributed it to an active lifestyle.

Cucco died on 18 June 2021 at the age of 110 years, 51 days. She was survived by her two daughters and two sons-in-law, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

At the time of death, she was the third-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of New Jersey, behind Edith Rose and Hilda Brown.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Beating COVID, then turning 110” – Asbury Park Press, 7 May 2021

* “Jennie Cucco Obituary” – Bergen Record, June 2021

GALLERY