Obituary of Olive J Stanker

Olive (Johnson) Stanker passed away on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Olive was born in Wildwood, NJ on October 30, 1933 to George and Grace (Harrison) Johnson, but was raised in Pitman. She held many fond memories of growing up on Hazel Avenue which was down the street from the firehouse, where they would race to see the trucks leaving to respond to a call. She also hurried to finish clearing the dinner table to go watch the boys play ball at Alcyon Park. Olive was the third of the DROP sisters - Doris, Ruth, Olive and Pat. Olive graduated from Pitman High School in 1953. During her high school years, she was a standout athlete playing varsity softball and field hockey in her freshman year. Olive met Cookie on the dance floor at the Oasis Ballroom and they were married shortly after in 1958. She had several jobs throughout her life - Bell Telephone switchboard operator, Prudential Insurance nickel policy claims, DunRite Sand and Gravel bookkeeper, Cunningham School playground aide, So-Fro Fabrics, but she had the most stories about being a school bus driver (#86) for the Vineland Board of Education until she retired in 1995. In retirement, Olive and Cookie relocated to Wardensville, WV and lived there for 21 years. They returned to Vineland in 2015. Olive, Cookie, Laurie and Terri enjoyed many camping adventures at Cedar Lake in Port Elizabeth, along the Chesapeake and down to Florida. Together Olive and Cookie had an especially memorable van camping trip to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and North and South Dakota. The highlights being Mount Rushmore and Wall Drug Store. Olive was a talented seamstress, quilter and made various crocheted items and passed these skills along to her daughters. She never turned down ice cream and was particularly fond of Klondike Kones. In addition to her parents, Olive was predeceased by her sisters Ruth Neal and her husband James Neal and Doris Webb and her husband Charles Webb and her in-laws Felix and Theresa (Gallina) Stanker. Olive is survived by her husband Lamarr "Cookie" Stanker; daughters and sons-in-law Laurie and Victor LaTorre and Terri and Stephen Dean; grandsons and their wives, Michael and Natalie (Catrambone) LaTorre, RJ and Shana (Sirawatka) Garvey and Kyle and Lauren (Sushko) Garvey, and many nieces and nephews. Olive and Cookie were blessed with the arrival of their first great-grandchild, Olivia Rose Garvey, in August. During this journey, our caregiving team was formed consisting of Aysha Bowman, Nelly Crespo, Evelyn Mendez, Sharon Lesins and Brenda Peterson, along with the guidance and caring of Colleen, Ally, Debra and Jessica from Red Oak Hospice. A funeral home visitation will be on November 7, 2023 from 9am to 11am followed by a funeral service beginning at 11am from Rone Funeral Service, 1110 E Chestnut Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360. Inurnment will follow at Greenwood Memorial Park, Millville, NJ In lieu of flowers, memorial donations would be appreciated to Red Oak Hospice, 154 Sunny Slope Drive, Bridgeton, NJ 08302 or the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org. ARRANGEMENTS are under the supervision of Rone Funeral Service, 1110 East Chestnut Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360 To send online condolences please visit our website at www.RONEFUNERALSERVICE.com