BUTCHKO—Amelia F. Butchko, known as 'Amy' to her friends, died peacefully at age 92 on August 5, 2023, at her home in Iselin, New Jersey.  She lived fourteen years with cancer, remaining buoyant throughout.  Amy was a daughter, a mother, a wife, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a friend, and the joyous, loopy, big-hearted 'Auntie Amy' to a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives who adored her.

Born to Ettore Bertolozzi and Nella Del Mastro in Hopelawn, New Jersey, on January 10, 1931, Amy relished her Mediterranean heritage as reflected in her cooking and baking skills, love of musica Italiana, and use of the Italian language at the drop of a cappello.  A lifelong vegetarian (who made the best meatballs!), a cookie-maker extraordinaire, a pianist, a story-teller, a world traveler, and a lover of old movies and animals, Amy is survived by her children Michele and Michael, her grandchildren Brandon and Chiara, and her new great-grandson Sebastian.  Amy was predeceased by her husband, Michael Butchko, in 1983 and her sister, Ida Bertolozzi Chirico, in 2004.

After graduating with honors from Woodbridge High School in 1948, she worked for Merck in Rahway, leaving to raise her children in Perth Amboy.  In 1962 she began an almost 30-year career at the Garden State Parkway, witnessing the birth of the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, which she loved attending, and developing lifelong friendships with the diverse characters at her workplace.

Amy lived life at a different frequency than most, tuning directly into peoples' hearts and making everyone feel her love.  She was sad to leave us; we are sorry she's gone.

Friends may call at the Flynn and Son Funeral Home, 23 Ford Ave., Fords on Wednesday, from 6:00pm - 9:00pm where services will take place on Thursday, August 10, 2023 at 10:30am.  Interment will follow in Alpine Cemetery in Perth Amboy.

In place of flowers, Amy requested donations be made to her favorite charities: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital ( www.stjude.org ), or the ASPCA ( www.aspca.org ).