Senior of the Year: I'll Be Here 'Until They Carry Me Out'

Diana Scotto wasn't expecting to be named a Senior of the Year by Seniors, Inc.

"I was shocked, stunned," said Scotto, who has been a member of the Hopatcong club for eight years. "It’s a great honor."

Like felow member Kenneth Murison, she was awared the title for years of service and volunteerism.

Scotto joined after retiring as an administrator in a doctor’s office. For six of her eight years in Seniors, Inc., Scotto has served on the group's board of trustees. She is also the group’s "Sunshine Girl," faithfully sending Mass cards and other appropriate condolences to the families of deceased members. She also sends get-well cards to members who are ill.

Scotto and Murison, were featured guests in the recent

Her volunteerism extends beyond the senior group. Every Friday, Scotto is a volunteer at Dover General Hospital, where she has just been named vice president of the hospital's auxilliary.

Scotto, 76, began visiting Hopatcong back in the early 1950s, when she was just a teenager. Her mother had had a chance opportunity to visit the area and fell in love with it, bringing her family back as often as she could.

In 1958 the family made a permanent move from Brooklyn to Hopatcong. In 1963, the newly married Scotto also made Hopatcong her permanent home.

Except for a decade living in Mount Olive, Scotto has lived in Hopatcong most of her life. She currently lives in the house her parents bought back in 1958, in the Hills section of town.

"I like living up here because it’s sort of country but not really country," she said. "We’re so close to everything—Route 10, Route 206 and Route 80. It was a good place to raise my kids. I’m going to stay here until they carry me out!"

Scotto has two daughters; one is living with her family in Pennsylvania and the other is with her family in the Oak Ridge section of Jefferson Township.