This story is part of Loved and Lost, a statewide media collaboration working to celebrate the life of every New Jersey resident who died of COVID-19. To learn more and submit a loved one s name to be profiled, visit lovedandlostnj.com.
Virginia Crilly could do it all.
An English major who graduated magna cum laude from the now-defunct Notre Dame College on Staten Island, she regularly made tatters of the New York Times revered crossword puzzles.
But Crilly s collegiate minors in French and philosophy shined just as often, said her daughter, Donna Crilly of Ramsey. Those who made the mistake of asking the devout Catholic a religious question often got more of a lecture than they d planned for.