Obituary of Josephine DeRosa

Josephine DeRosa, born March 18th, 1929 passed away on Thursday November 19th, 2022 at the age of 93. She is predeceased by her husband Anthony DeRosa, her father, Paul D’Elia, her mother Sara Bruno, her brothers Anthony D’Elia, Michael D’Elia, Cono D’Elia, Benny D’Elia and her sisters Rose Mason, Mary Fontano, Frances Scibelli, Theresa Jones and Pauline Parente. She is survived by her Sister, Felicia Varacalli, her daughter Diane Peters and her husband Frank, son John DeRosa and his wife Suzanne, and six grandchildren, Joseph Peters (Mehgan), Jessica DiStasio (Jodee), Alyssa Montano (Joe), Anthony Peters, Alexandra DeRosa (Andrew), Matthew DeRosa and four great-grandchildren, Sienna Peters, Sydney Peters, Lola Gratacos and Lucas Montano. A funeral mass will be held December 19th, 2022 at 10am, St. Joseph’s church, Toms River, N.J. In lieu of flowers please keep Josephine and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Born in Williamsburg Brooklyn,March 18, 1929, she was the youngest of 11 children. The D’Elia’s were a wonderful and close knit family. She often told stories of the fun times they had growing up. She met her husband Anthony DeRosa, a WWII veteran while working in the garment trade and they were married nearly 50 years. She was a wonderful wife and they loved and cared for each other. They had many happy times together and provided a loving and supportive home for their children. They had many friends and were good neighbors to everyone. She loved spending time with family especially at holidays, birthdays, graduations, dance recitals, youth sporting events and family vacations. In 2002, when her husband fell into poor health, she was there for him. She stood by his side and cared for him. And when he passed, she learned to carry on, maintaining her independence and overcoming the sorrow of losing her husband. She had a lot of perseverance and determination and will always be admired for that. Josephine was a wonderful, kind, generous and caring person and will be missed dearly. She lived a long, healthy and happy life - and we were fortunate and blessed to have her with us for as long as we did.