Ramonita "Rae" Gelabert, 93, of Hamilton, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 8, 2024 with family by her side.

Rae was the eldest child of John and Ramona Gelabert and was born and raised in Manhattan, with her younger sister, Rose. Rae was fiercely independent and loved the hustle and bustle of city life, living on her own in the city well into her 70s. During this time, Rae worked as a secretary for the Biltmore Hotel and later volunteered at Mt. Sinai Hospital.  She loved fashion and jewelry, and had a great sense of personal style – living by the motto, "you always have to look your best!" She was also an avid traveler and loved taking trips with friends and soaking up all the history and culture her destinations had to offer. Her most memorable trip was to Spain, during which she visited our family's ancestral region and found a storefront bearing the "Gelabert" family name, which is still in existence today!

As she got older, she moved to Hamilton, New Jersey to be closer to her sister and extended family, and the hustle and bustle of city living was replaced by the hustle and bustle of family life. She greatly enjoyed this new chapter, which allowed her to share in special family moments, including birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings, and everything in between.

While at the nursing home she was very much the social butterfly, making friends and immersing herself in all the activities.  She loved bible study, crafts, and Bingo, and also kept up on all the latest celebrity and pop culture gossip with her favorite, People Magazine. She continued to maintain her strong sense of style and would never been seen without her hair and nails done, and jewelry on, because "you always have to look your best."

She was outspoken and opinionated and loved her family intensely.  And her family loved her intensely as well.  She will be missed but her memory lives on in her loving family, including her sister and brother-in-law, Rose and John Gutierrez; her niece, Lori Kaniper; her nephew, David Gutierrez, and her great nephews and their families, Scott and Arielle Kaniper, and Marc and Emily Kaniper and their daughter, Charlotte.

A viewing with the family will be held Thursday, June 13th from 5-7pm with a service to begin at 6pm at the Peppler Funeral Home, 114 S. Main St. Allentown.  Interment will be held 11:15am on Friday, June 14th at St. Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, NY.

If you would like to do something other than flowers, consider a donation in Rae's name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959