Rose Sano

Rose Sano, age 84, of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 31, 2022 while in the presence of her loving family.

The first of Harry and Mary (Makoujy) Saccal’s six children, Rose was born on October 5, 1937 in Utica, New York. She was raised on Graham Ave in Paterson, New Jersey above her father and uncle’s grocery store. Rose never worked in the store but, as a child, she did manage to sneak down with her sister Jane to occasionally help themselves to candy.

Rose attended Paterson’s St. Bonaventure High School and left school early to go to work at Brooks Brothers in Paterson.

One night while at a dance at Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church in Paterson, sponsored by the church’s Christian Youth Organization group, Rose had the pleasure of meeting a handsome young man named Anthony “Tony” Sano. Tony noticed Rose and her sister Jane from across the room and had to decide which one of them he was going to approach. He chose Rose and they had such a nice time getting to know one another that Tony asked Rose out for a formal date to the movies. They fell in love and, after about a year of dating they felt a mutual desire to marry. Being of Syrian lineage, it was expected of Tony that he would get permission for her hand in marriage, not from her father but from her grandfather. Fortunately for Tony, Rose’s grandfather gave his blessing and they married on Sunday, May 4, 1958 at the same church where they originally met. It rained on the day of their wedding but that was ok. In fact, it was considered good luck to get married on a rainy day. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds hosted their reception at a hall on 21’st Ave in Paterson and then they were off to the Poconos where they stayed at a place called the Honeymoon Haven.

Rose and Tony started their life as husband and wife in his uncle’s apartment house on Genessee Ave in Paterson. From there they moved into Rose’s parent’s house at 117 Putnam Street in Paterson. While there they welcomed their firstborn, a precious daughter which they named Mary. When the house on Putnam Street got to be a little too tight, they built a two-family house at 18 Rose Place in West Paterson (today the town is called Woodland Park). They lived on the first floor and rented out the second floor apartment. While living there, they were blessed with two more daughters – first Margie and then Theresa. In January of 1977 they moved again. This time to 28 Hershey Road in Wayne. The next 43 years were spent in that home where Rose and Tony raised their daughters and made many fine memories. In 2020, they moved one last time, across town in Wayne.

Rose was first and foremost dedicated in her role as mother and homemaker. She was the finest cook a family could ever ask for with her homemade lasagna and her Syrian grape leaves, made from leaves from her own grape vines, being family favorites. When her daughters reached the age of relative independence, Rose returned to work outside of the home. Her first job was at the daycare center in the Totowa Racquet Club. Soon after she settled into a sales associate position in the linen department at Bradlees Department Store in Wayne. She enjoyed that job immensely, especially waiting on the customers and getting to know them. She remained with Bradlees for many years only choosing retirement when her husband Tony retired from Hoffmann La-Roche so they could do things together.

Rose and Tony quickly joined the Hoffman La Roche Retirement Club. In fact, you could almost describe Rose and Tony as retirement club groupies because they belonged to other clubs too, including The Happy Time Seniors, The Golden Agers Circle of Wayne, and the Wayne Elks Club where Rose served in the Ladies Auxiliary and also marched with Tony in the annual Memorial Day parades. Through these different clubs, they also enjoyed many group-sponsored trips to international destinations including Italy and France as well as domestic destinations including Branson, Missouri, to Elvis Presley’s Graceland Mansion in Tennessee, to Mardi Gras and to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

When not travelling the world, Rose kept herself occupied in a myriad of different ways. She and Tony joined the Tuesday T-Bowl Seniors bowling league, they loved getting together with their friends Rich and Phyllis for a night of playing card games, and dancing was truly one of Rose’s favorite thing to do. She and Tony never missed a dance at the Elks Club or with the Golden Agers at the Brownstone where they danced the night away to the tunes of Peter Lieberman on the keyboard. At home Rose loved watching the Hallmark movie channel, listening to Elvis Presely, keeping her mind sharp by playing Scrabble, doing those word searches, and assembling 1000+ piece puzzles which she’d découpage and proudly display on the walls of her home. Rose was also the premier afghan maker which she’d make for her family to keep warm on a cold winter’s night.    

Above all else in her life, Rose enjoyed having her whole family gathered for birthdays, holidays, or really any occasion at all. She and Tony felt so blessed to have each other and she always looked forward to having her daughters and son-in-laws over for all the holidays. She simply adored her three grandchildren and relished the times when they would come over to the house for a swim in the pool and afterwards, she’d always serve them ice cream. Having three sisters and two brothers meant that she was also the aunt of numerous nieces and nephews and they all looked forward to Aunt Rosie’s phone calls on their birthday.

Rose will be remembered for being the most loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt. She was a very kind and generous person. If you would come to Roses home for a visit, you were sure to leave with a care package lovingly prepared by Rose herself. She was a colorful woman who was known for her festive hats, and she was a funny person who always found the humor in life’s situations and the good in all who had the honor of sharing life with her.    

Rose was the beloved wife of Anthony “Tony” Sano, blessed in marriage for 63 years. She was the loving mother of her three daughters: Mary Sano of Wayne, Margie and husband Oscar Fernandez of Hawthorne, and Theresa and husband Mark De Block of Shohola, PA; adoring grandmother of: Emma Fernandez, Mark Anthony De Block, Thomas James De Block, and Nichole, Tara and Karlee De Block; dear oldest sister of: Jane and husband Thomas DePasquale of Boonton, Shirley DeMeyere of Port St. Lucie, FL (deceased husband, Jack), George and his late wife Laura Saccal of Chesapeake, VA, the late Margie and her husband Peter Previte of Port St. Lucie, FL, and Joseph and his wife Kate Saccal of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; deceased brother-in-law of Frank Sano, and loved aunt of all those nieces and nephews.  

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Rose’s name are asked to consider:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Memorial Processing,

501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105-9959