Rose Pacelli, 93, of New Port Richey, Florida, passed away on May 19th, 2023.

Rose Tedone was born in an apartment in Bronx, NY on Longfellow Avenue.  At 16 her parents were able to buy a house and they moved to Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, NY.  Our mother met our father at a cousin’s sweet 16 party.  Our parents were together for over 60 years.

Our parents lived in Panama for a short time during the Korean war.  Rose went to Panama, on her own, aboard a container ship.  It was not luxurious, but it brought her to where our father was stationed.    They enjoyed their life in Panama but when the war ended, they started a home of their own in Bensonhurst.   They always loved the county side and bought a “house” in Olive Bridge NY which they referred to as “upstate”.   Over the years, they gradually rebuilt and expanded the house with their own hands.  They finally moved into their dream house in 1983.   In 2002, when winter got to be too much, they moved to sunny Florida to live their lives.   But their hearts were always in Olive Bridge.

Rose loved to be around family and friends.   Growing up, we always had family and friends over.  Our home was full of life, laughter, and love.  Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries were always a time to celebrate.   Even when there was nothing to celebrate, we came together just for fun! She enjoyed telling jokes and laughing at them.  She was usually happy and smiling.   And always wanted to have fun!   She loved her brothers and sister and we saw our aunt and uncles quite often.  We enjoyed listening to them tell stories about when they were growing up and how our grandparents were able to create happiness in the family even during the great depression.

Our annual “Pacelli Clambake” held in their “upstate” house was the best.  Our parents were thrilled when we all got together for a weekend of feasting and playing games.  As we started dating and getting married and the grand kids were born, the clambake grew and grew!

Rose was talented in the kitchen.  She had a love of baking and experimenting with new recipes.  Our parents would create menus and try new recipes together.  They worked together well in the kitchen and enjoyed it until our dad’s passing.   One holiday, back in the 70’s, Rose served crudité to our aunts and uncles.  They told her that she forgot to cook the vegetables!  She patiently explained that crudité was supposed to be raw, and everyone enjoyed it!   She also had a sweet tooth and old fashioned black and white ice cream sodas were top of her list!  Experimenting with food wasn’t just when they were cooking. Our parents enjoyed dining out and trying an assortment of cuisines and menu items.  They enjoyed sushi, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Greek and many other ethnic cuisines.   One of her last meals was tuna tartar, escargot, and mussels!

Rose was an extremely artistic and talented person. She trained as a seamstress and pattern designer in Central High School of Needle Trades.  However, dressmaking wasn’t her only talent.   Painting, drawing, sketching, and crafts she did beautifully.  But her passion and skills really shone with the beautiful works of stained-glass art that she created. After taking a night class at a local college with her son, she continued to train herself to make professional quality lamps, windows, clocks, furniture, décor- she created so many gorgeous pieces.  No one believes it was just her hobby.

When our parents were building the house in Olive Bridge, she was helping dad every step of the way- mixing and pouring cement, hanging siding, putting the roof on, sheet rock, painting.   They lovingly worked side by side (of course we helped too!).  With our dad’s skill and our mom’s willingness, they built a 5-bedroom home!

I remember when she went back to work when I was around 12.  My older sister told my mother that no one was hiring people.  My mother made her a bet that she could get a job.  She went out the next day and my mother came home with a job at the Greenwich savings bank as a teller.  She quickly was promoted to new accounts and then special accounts.  She loved going back to work and starting a new career after being a stay-at-home mom for so many years.

Our mother loved to explore.  She would often take a different road to see where it would lead.  Many times, we ended up far away from our planned destination!  But we were never lost.  She always said that we just “taking the scenic route”!  We found many interesting places on those scenic trips!

The last chapters of our parents’ lives were in Florida.  They were very active with social clubs and friends.  Rose always volunteered to help with events, and she was always the treasurer!

She is predeceased by her husband, Joseph Pacelli; her daughter-in-law Joyce Pacelli; her 5 siblings; and many relatives.

Rose is survived by her children Maryann (Fred) Ricci, Christopher (Deborah) Pacelli, Judith (James) Carletta, and Lucinda (Thomas) Roenicke); grandchildren Mara (Matthew) McGeever, Vanessa (Eric) Casper, Joseph (Janet) Pacelli, Danielle (Douglas) Lehnert, Kristen (Christopher) Graham, Jennifer (Timothy) Kingston, Michael (Morgan) Carletta; as well as great-grandchildren Ellie Casper, Benjamin Casper, Kylee Graham, Aria Pacelli, Harper Carletta, Matilda Rose McGeever, Violet Lehnert, Sydney Kingston, and Alexa Kingston.

Services will be held 11:00 am on June 13, 2023, at St. Kilian Parish (485 Conklin Street; Farmingdale, NY 11735)

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at: https://www.stjude.org/give/memorials-and-dedications.htmlnd gifts