Pauline Colangelo, an educator, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, whose passion for equal opportunity and public education, dedication to teachers’ rights and formidable intelligence informed her gracious and meaningful life, died early in the morning of April 15, 2011, in Coupeville. She was 95.

She lived in Clinton for the last 10 years, after having lived in Morrisville, Pa. for

50 years prior to that.

Born Pauline Filloramo in Brooklyn, N.Y., a daughter of immigrants from Sicily, Pauline graduated from

New York University in 1937 with a degree in education. She challenged the zeitgeist of the time, given her gender and ethnic background, by pursuing post-secondary studies.

She went on to receive her master’s degree, also from NYU, and also in education.

She attended NYU because The College of the City of New York, months after having accepted her, notified her that it was rescinding its admissions offer, as too many male applicants had accepted their admissions offers and her place was being given to a male student.

There was no recourse for this discrimination in that time, so she applied to NYU, and was accepted. However, the experience would inform her professional and personal life in the following years.

A passionate educator, Pauline advocated for the right to equal educational opportunity for students, and for the rights of educators. She taught, and later served as guidance counselor, at Trenton Central High School, in Trenton, N.J., from 1959 until 1980.

During that time, she came to appreciate that without engaging in labor organizing, teachers would be unable to advocate for their own rights. To that end, she worked diligently to create a chapter of the National Education Association in Trenton, which became the Trenton Education Association (TEA), part of the New Jersey Education Association. Her valor, unwillingness to accept less than full rights for educators, creative negotiating and organizing skills, and diligent and tireless efforts guided the journey to establishment of the new chapter.

Pauline was active in the TEA until her retirement, at which time she worked with the Mercer County Retired Educators Association, also serving for years on its executive board.

During her time at Trenton High, the United States experienced troubled race relations. Riots broke out in the city of Trenton, and at Trenton High. Pauline counseled both black and white students, and created small, integrated groups in which she encouraged the students to work together toward peace and equality. This was noticed by the Trenton Police, who supported her work with these students.

Life was not all labor, of course. Pauline’s lush and fragrant gardens were one vehicle for her creativity, and love of nature’s beauty. Peonies, tulips, astilbes, lamiums, pansies, flocks; so many varieties thrived in her gardens, and she called them all by their botanical names.

Other creative outlets were sewing designer clothing, knitting and crocheting, and cooking gourmet meals.

Friends and family were always present in her life, and her devotion to them was unquestioned. Her nieces and nephews remember her kind generosity and participation in their lives.

In 1942, Pauline married Domenick Colangelo, who later became the administrative director of the Mercer County Child Guidance Center. They had three daughters, and four cherished grandchildren. The grandchildren could be assured of “special time,” as they called it, with their grandparents. Pauline was sure to cook each child’s favorite foods, whether that was tofu and brown rice or manicotti with marinara sauce.

In the middle years, she helped with difficult college Italian translations, enjoyed a grandson’s spending a college summer vacation with her and his grandfather, and travelled to be with her grandchildren. She delighted in the youngest member of the family, her great granddaughter.

Pauline is survived by two sisters, Ida Filloramo of Boynton Beach, Fla. and Gloria (Filloramo) Miceli of Long Island, N.Y.; a sister-in-law, Dina (Colangelo) Baratto and brother-in-law, Santo Nicoletti; by three daughters, Juliette Colangelo, of Sedona, Ariz., Annapoorne Colangelo of Clinton, and Gloria Colangelo of Somerville, S.C.; by four grandchildren, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Jeremy Colangelo-Bryan, and his wife, Bridget Anderson, of Brooklyn, Shanti Colangelo-Curran of Sausalito, Calif., and Chelsea Colangelo-Tola of Somerville, S.C.; and by a great-granddaughter, Naya Colangelo-Ghossein, of Brooklyn; and by numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

She will be remembered always for her sharp wit, generosity, lovely graciousness, love of her family, and devotion to making life better.

A memorial gathering will be announced.

Contributions may be made in Pauline’s name to the Dom Colangelo Scholarship Fund. The fund offers college tuition assistance to children in foster care. The address for the scholarship fund is: Dom Colangelo Scholarship Fund, Bucks For Kids, 43 E. Oakland Ave., Doylestown, PA 18901.