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June 21, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Thursday, June 26, 2014 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, NJ.
Rosa Giardina, age 96 of Wayne, died peacefully on Saturday, June 21, 2014.
Born in the Bronx, she moved with her family to Sicily, where her father had a farm, when she was about six years old. Sadly, her father passed away soon thereafter and Rosa’s mother raised six children on her own. During World War II, life in Sicily had its challenges. Much of Rosa’s teenage years were spent in bomb shelters, struggling to survive. Her husband Angelo was captured by the Allies while fighting for the Italian Army in Africa. He was sent to a POW camp in the state of Maryland, USA. Rosa, being a natural born US citizen, moved to Maryland with her children so she could be closer to Angelo. Upon his release, their family was reunited and they settled in the Philadelphia area. In the 1950’s, they moved to the Riverside neighborhood of Paterson, where there was a large contingent of Sicilians living at the time.
To say that Rosa was an excellent cook would be an understatement. Her meals were fantastic, her pasta was the best, and her ravioli’s were craved by all. Her grandchildren called her “Grandma Roni” and they always looked forward to meals at her house. Thursday and Sunday were “pasta night” at Rosa’s. She was also very skilled at crocheting and could make some of the finest Italian lace you have ever seen.
Rosa was devoted to the Rosary and prayed all day long. In recent years it became difficult for her to attend church regularly, so she would tune the TV to watch her daily Mass.
Longevity sometimes has its drawbacks. Rosa lost her husband Angelo nearly forty years ago, in 1977, and her eldest son Sebastian of Bloomingdale passed away in April of 2013. She is survived by three sons; Joseph and his wife Lenore of Wayne, Angelo and his wife Valerie of Colonia, and Salvatore and his wife Dianne of Pompton Plains, a daughter-in-law; Cathi Giardina of Bloomingdale, nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, as well as two great-great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to the Make-A-Wish Foundation America, 4742 N. 24th Street, Suite 400, Phoenix, AZ 85016-4862 would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Thursday, June 26, 2014 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, NJ.
June 21, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Thursday, June 26, 2014 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Burial will follow at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, NJ.
Rosa Giardina, age 96 of Wayne, died peacefully on Saturday, June 21, 2014.
Born in the Bronx, she moved with her family to Sicily, where her father had a farm, when she was about six years old. Sadly, her father passed away soon thereafter and Rosa’s mother raised six children on her own. During World War II, life in Sicily had its challenges. Much of Rosa’s teenage years were spent in bomb shelters, struggling to survive. Her husband Angelo was captured by the Allies while fighting for the Italian Army in Africa. He was sent to a POW camp in the state of Maryland, USA. Rosa, being a natural born US citizen, moved to Maryland with her children so she could be closer to Angelo. Upon his release, their family was reunited and they settled in the Philadelphia area. In the 1950’s, they moved to the Riverside neighborhood of Paterson, where there was a large contingent of Sicilians living at the time.
To say that Rosa was an excellent cook would be an understatement. Her meals were fantastic, her pasta was the best, and her ravioli’s were craved by all. Her grandchildren called her “Grandma Roni” and they always looked forward to meals at her house. Thursday and Sunday were “pasta night” at Rosa’s. She was also very skilled at crocheting and could make some of the finest Italian lace you have ever seen.
Rosa was devoted to the Rosary and prayed all day long. In recent years it became difficult for her to attend church regularly, so she would tune the TV to watch her daily Mass.
Longevity sometimes has its drawbacks. Rosa lost her husband Angelo nearly forty years ago, in 1977, and her eldest son Sebastian of Bloomingdale passed away in April of 2013. She is survived by three sons; Joseph and his wife Lenore of Wayne, Angelo and his wife Valerie of Colonia, and Salvatore and his wife Dianne of Pompton Plains, a daughter-in-law; Cathi Giardina of Bloomingdale, nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, as well as two great-great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to the Make-A-Wish Foundation America, 4742 N. 24th Street, Suite 400, Phoenix, AZ 85016-4862 would be greatly appreciated.
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