Ethel Anne Athanas

Colleen (Ethel Anne) Athanas of Westfield, NJ born on Feb 3, 1939 died peacefully at home on June 2, 2010. Ms. Athanas was a native of Roselle and as a single mother raised her 2 beloved daughters in Cranford, NJ. She had a successful modeling career in New York City and was a talented artist who also pursued a degree in Psychology at Rutgers University. She was employed by Union County Social Services for 15 years before retiring. She is survived by her two daughters Deborah Zea and Vanessa Messinger, her beloved life partner Bill Russell, her son in-law Dan Zea and her pets; she is also survived by 5 sisters and 16 nieces and nephews. Colleen was deeply loved by everyone whose life she touched and will be especially missed by Deborah, Vanessa and Bill. She will be forever in our hearts. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend a memorial gathering in her honor on Tuesday, June 8th from 2 to 4pm with a service at 3:30 pm at Gray Memorial Funeral Home, 12 Springfield Avenue, Cranford NJ. www.grayfuneralhomes.com.