A resident of Redding and New Fairfield, Connecticut, Mrs. Santomero was 84 years old. Her husband Camillo M. Santomero, JR, and her parents, Herman and Liesbeth Mayer, predeceased her.
Her parents emigrated from Germany in the early 1900s. She was their only child. She was very close with her cousins, Ronnie Mayer, Robert Mayer, and Erwin Tummel, and had a special bond with her cousin Ruth Rennert's.
Gloria grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and was a proud Brooklyn Dodgers fan. She enjoyed going to the games with her Father. She worked at Mayer’s family luncheonette and chocolate shop during her youth.
She met her husband, Camillo Santomero, in high school. She married at 20 years old and enjoyed a full and rich 63 years of marriage.
Mrs. Santomero is survived by their five children and seven grandchildren; her son Camillo, his wife Denise; daughter Jennifer and her husband Samuel Rosenblum; daughter Susan; daughter Deborah and her wife Lisa; and her son Christopher and his wife Francesca. Grandchildren include Camillo IV, Charlotte, and Mason Santomero, Samantha Rosenblum Barrett, her husband Alexander, Andrew Rosenblum, and Christopher and Calista Santomero.
Gloria’s life revolved solely around her love and devotion for her husband, children, and grandchildren.
Even though she was an only child, she embraced her large family of Italian in-laws with open arms. They welcomed her as well and her mother-in-law taught her delicious secret Italian family recipes that she has passed down to her daughters too. She hosted hundreds of large family and neighborhood backyard gatherings over the years of 50+ people with ease and grace. She never seemed to tire and always looked elegant. She was the epitome of the “50’s Mom”. She was always polite, kind, welcoming, and inclusive to all neighboring children and parents. You never heard her say a bad word about anyone. She volunteered often and was a PTA Mom, Girl Scout leader, bake sale cookie maker, a participant in the New Fairfield Book Club and also an active Danbury Women’s club member. She was generous to all of her family members. She enjoyed donating to clubs, schools, organizations, and townships.
She loved the holidays and will be remembered for her abundance of delicious food, her love of decorations, dinner games, and the infamous family race to find 100’s of outdoor Easter eggs, gift baskets, and the prized golden egg. She will also be remembered for individually making many tins of Norwegian (Krumkakke) cookies each Christmas. They were at every holiday party and many, many individuals look forward to receiving their full cookie tin each year.
Gloria encouraged and valued education for their children and grandchildren. She loved to attend every school function and sporting activity as well as to hear them practice their musical instruments at home. She also loved seeing her children and grandchildren enjoy their CT lake house. She shared with them, her love of opera, theater, country music, classical art, reading, crossword puzzles and of course, chocolate.
She loved to travel with family and friends. She was always up for a new idea or adventure and always had a “bucket list” going. Gloria kept many long-standing friendships. She stayed close with women from The Galaxy group from her alma mater, Hunter College in NYC. She also helped create the “Board of Directors” club. It encouraged her friends to learn about the stock market in order to engage with their husbands in a more meaningful way. It also served as a good excuse to travel and socialize often.
Towards the end of her life, she battled Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. She was a true warrior. She was able to maneuver those years with grace by using her intelligence and many good habits from her life. She continued to learn new things. She liked to watch movies, documentaries and musical concerts. She also loved going to the theater and out to dinner. She enjoyed nature, especially the many birds in the garden, colorful flowers, the ocean, and beautiful sunsets. Thanks to her large, loving family and her wonderful caregivers she was able to enjoy herself each and every day. She never went a day without chocolate or a day without music.
She was an inspiration to all, to make the best of your situation, always strive to be a better person, stay positive, and be kind. She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed but remembered by many.
The viewing and funeral will be a private event this weekend. A memorial mass will be announced at a later date.
Her family requests that in lieu of flowers please feel free to donate to ALZ.org or a charity that is dear to your heart. Thank you.
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