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April 24, 2026
Services
All services will be private.
Kathleen Mary Rothberg, age 82, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home with the loving comfort of her family by her side.
Kathleen was born in Paterson on August 16, 1943, to Mary and John Graham. In October, 1950, she was joined by her little brother, Jack. She was raised in Paterson and attended school there until she graduated high school.
Kathy's first job was as a receptionist at a physician's office, along with being a doting mother to her two daughters. Tracey was born in 1963, followed by Colleen, in 1965. She was taught beautician skills by an Aunt and enjoyed doing some side work as a hairstylist for some years. Her next position was working as a cashier in a pharmacy. During most of her adult life, she was a phenomenal homemaker, taking great pride in her home. She was also a very talented decorator. Her house was always spotless, making a white cotton glove test difficult to pick up a speck of dust. She eventually did go back to working part time at a pharmacy and later on in her 60's, she worked in the mall, for a skincare line and enjoyed selling the products. For a time, she also enjoyed selling costume jewelry.Most of all, she was a homemaker, creating the beautiful home her family shared together.
Kathy was quite the shopper. She would frequent the mall and her favorite department stores, where she would find many treasures for her children and grandchildren. She was a very generous soul. She loved to cook and try new recipes. She would clip and save recipes from magazines, but mainly learned her cooking skills from her mother. She made notes for everything. There was always a sticky note or notepad in her drawer with little scribbles on what she needed to remember for that particular day or the next. Kathy loved sunny beach days with her family and friends. She took many family vacations to Long Beach Island with the entire family. They rented a big house and made priceless memories there. She very much enjoyed sitting out by her daughter's pool on warmer days when the sun was shining. She had many gatherings at her home on Benson Drive in Wayne. She was a wonderful hostess and it was always a treat for her family to go to Sunday dinner,whether it was barbecue or a pasta dish. Some of her specialties where pot roasts and stews. She loved to spend her evenings relaxing in bed watching her crime drama shows until she was so tired from the day that she would sometimes just doze off. Kathy had a great love for gardening. Her yard was meticulously landscaped and had many different types of perennial flowers and bushes. She had an endearing saying that she used with her family, when they said"Love you", she would always say, "I love you more."Hearing that will surely be something her family will miss. More than anything in her life, she cherished her family and they were her life. When her nieces' mother was very ill, she took them into her home and provided and cared for them as her own. She also had a dog, Maggie, who she loved very much, and washer companion for many years.
Kathy met her future husband, Alan, at Sussman pharmacy in Paterson. She had been working for Dr. Hirsch, and a nurse associate who worked with her, told Alan about a nice girl that she worked with. Alan took her advice and gave Kathy a call. They went on their first date to an exquisite restaurant in Whippany, where they hit it off, and continued dating. They married on November 22, 1969, at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Wayne and honeymooned in Florida. Alan treated Kathy's two daughters with great love and respect, and after their marriage, it gave him great joy to adopt them both as his own daughters. In 1972, Kathy and Alan welcomed a son, Scott. The family of five lived briefly in Marlborough, before moving to Wayne where they remained for 33 years before moving to Pompton Lakes in 2005. They were married for 44 years until Alan's passing in 2013.
Kathleen is survived by her two daughters, Tracey Seylaz, and Colleen Darpino and her husband, Dean, her son,Scott, and his wife Angela, her brother Jack, her nieces Wendy and Beth, her great nieces Shea and Kylee, her 8 grandchildren, Ryan, Connor, Meghan,Brianna, Brynn, Trevor, James and Alyssa. Great grandchildren, Austin, Brooks,Peyton, Mackenzie, Johnny, Blake, Oakley and Piper.
In memory of Kathleen, please consider a donation to her niece Shea's School Foundation (Shea has Down Syndrome, and had a very special bond with Kathy). They're phone calls always ended with"Oh Dear!", as Shea would ask her to count to three and repeat after each phone call!
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
All services will be private.
April 24, 2026
Services
All services will be private.
Kathleen Mary Rothberg, age 82, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home with the loving comfort of her family by her side.
Kathleen was born in Paterson on August 16, 1943, to Mary and John Graham. In October, 1950, she was joined by her little brother, Jack. She was raised in Paterson and attended school there until she graduated high school.
Kathy's first job was as a receptionist at a physician's office, along with being a doting mother to her two daughters. Tracey was born in 1963, followed by Colleen, in 1965. She was taught beautician skills by an Aunt and enjoyed doing some side work as a hairstylist for some years. Her next position was working as a cashier in a pharmacy. During most of her adult life, she was a phenomenal homemaker, taking great pride in her home. She was also a very talented decorator. Her house was always spotless, making a white cotton glove test difficult to pick up a speck of dust. She eventually did go back to working part time at a pharmacy and later on in her 60's, she worked in the mall, for a skincare line and enjoyed selling the products. For a time, she also enjoyed selling costume jewelry.Most of all, she was a homemaker, creating the beautiful home her family shared together.
Kathy was quite the shopper. She would frequent the mall and her favorite department stores, where she would find many treasures for her children and grandchildren. She was a very generous soul. She loved to cook and try new recipes. She would clip and save recipes from magazines, but mainly learned her cooking skills from her mother. She made notes for everything. There was always a sticky note or notepad in her drawer with little scribbles on what she needed to remember for that particular day or the next. Kathy loved sunny beach days with her family and friends. She took many family vacations to Long Beach Island with the entire family. They rented a big house and made priceless memories there. She very much enjoyed sitting out by her daughter's pool on warmer days when the sun was shining. She had many gatherings at her home on Benson Drive in Wayne. She was a wonderful hostess and it was always a treat for her family to go to Sunday dinner,whether it was barbecue or a pasta dish. Some of her specialties where pot roasts and stews. She loved to spend her evenings relaxing in bed watching her crime drama shows until she was so tired from the day that she would sometimes just doze off. Kathy had a great love for gardening. Her yard was meticulously landscaped and had many different types of perennial flowers and bushes. She had an endearing saying that she used with her family, when they said"Love you", she would always say, "I love you more."Hearing that will surely be something her family will miss. More than anything in her life, she cherished her family and they were her life. When her nieces' mother was very ill, she took them into her home and provided and cared for them as her own. She also had a dog, Maggie, who she loved very much, and washer companion for many years.
Kathy met her future husband, Alan, at Sussman pharmacy in Paterson. She had been working for Dr. Hirsch, and a nurse associate who worked with her, told Alan about a nice girl that she worked with. Alan took her advice and gave Kathy a call. They went on their first date to an exquisite restaurant in Whippany, where they hit it off, and continued dating. They married on November 22, 1969, at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Wayne and honeymooned in Florida. Alan treated Kathy's two daughters with great love and respect, and after their marriage, it gave him great joy to adopt them both as his own daughters. In 1972, Kathy and Alan welcomed a son, Scott. The family of five lived briefly in Marlborough, before moving to Wayne where they remained for 33 years before moving to Pompton Lakes in 2005. They were married for 44 years until Alan's passing in 2013.
Kathleen is survived by her two daughters, Tracey Seylaz, and Colleen Darpino and her husband, Dean, her son,Scott, and his wife Angela, her brother Jack, her nieces Wendy and Beth, her great nieces Shea and Kylee, her 8 grandchildren, Ryan, Connor, Meghan,Brianna, Brynn, Trevor, James and Alyssa. Great grandchildren, Austin, Brooks,Peyton, Mackenzie, Johnny, Blake, Oakley and Piper.
In memory of Kathleen, please consider a donation to her niece Shea's School Foundation (Shea has Down Syndrome, and had a very special bond with Kathy). They're phone calls always ended with"Oh Dear!", as Shea would ask her to count to three and repeat after each phone call!
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