Claire Marie Lamont

Claire Marie Lamont, 66, died peacefully at her home on Thursday, November 26, 2020.  Claire Marie was a graduate of Immaculata High School where she was known by her classmates as Claire Marie Murphy. While in high school, she and her family had the great opportunity to live in Japan. Of course, like any teenager, she wasn't that thrilled with the idea. In fact, it wasn’t until years later that she would finally admit that it really was a wonderful experience.   When Claire Marie and Tony married, his mother, father, aunts, and uncles all welcomed her with open arms. In fact, Tony always joked that they liked her more than they liked him. And his suspicions may have been correct. After all, whenever they got together to play cards or go to Atlantic City, Claire Marie was always the first one they’d ask to join them. Family was always the most important thing to Claire Marie. Whether it was packing the kids in the car and traveling to South Jersey to see her mom, dad, brothers, and sisters, having a few laughs with her cousin Thom, or sitting around the kitchen table in North Plainfield at dinner time with Tony, their daughter, Danielle, and their two sons, Brian and Matt — family was what she lived for.  Claire Marie loved to cook. In fact, she made a career out of it. But even though she spent her entire day cooking at work, she would still come home and cook an entire meal for the family. No one ever missed a family dinner at Claire Marie’s house —including some kids that weren’t even part of her family. But she didn’t mind. She loved having the house where everyone was welcome. Something that became evident when Hassan, a friend of Matt’s was having problems at home and she took him in to live with us.  Once the kids were grown and out of the house, Claire Marie wanted to do something new with her culinary talents. And much to the delight of many North Plainfield residents, she opened up “Nanny’s Kitchen.” A little place that many claimed was the home of the world’s best potato salad. Here, she continued taking care of others by providing free meals to anyone who was experiencing difficult times and hosting an annual Christmas celebration for kids from Integrity House in Newark. Claire Marie loved roller coasters, playing pranks on the rest of the family, and dressing up for Halloween to go trick or treating with the kids. Yes, she would pretend she was one of the kids and had her own bag for candy. Claire Marie also enjoyed spending as much time as she could with her two grandchildren, Sean and Alexis. She loved movie day with Sean and laughing at Alexis’s quick wit and the nicknames she made up for her Uncles Matt, John, and Omar.  On November 26th, Claire Marie left her family and friends here on earth. Knowing her, she’s probably up in heaven playing cards with her in-laws and sharing a few laughs with her mom and dad. Claire Marie is survived by her husband of 46 years, Tony; her three children Danielle Rassa, Brian Lamont, and Matt Lamont; her son-in-law John Rassa; her daughter-in-law Sally Lamont; her two grandchildren Sean Rassa and Alexis Lamont; her siblings Timothy, Kevin, Maureen Aguilar, Kathleen Kinnarney, and Patricia Moore; her sisters-in-law, Nadine and Roe; her brothers-in-law, Omar, Jim, and Doug; her aunts Joan Upton and Marge Keenan; six nieces and nephews, one great nephew, and her best friend of 40 years, Barb. Gathering with the family will be 2 - 4 and 7 - 9 PM, Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at Hagan-Chamberlain Funeral Home, 225 Mountain Avenue, Bound Brook. A mass will be held at St. Joseph Church, Mountain Avenue and High Street, Bound Brook at 11 am, Wednesday, December 2, 2020.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made in Claire Marie's name to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County - North Plainfield Branch. 9 Easy Street, Bound Brook, NJ 08805.