Rose De Vita

She was the 4th child born to Joseph and Carmella Raia in Flushing, New York. She attended Mary Lewis Academy, and was one of the first women to earn her BS and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College. She began her professional life as a chemical engineer at Crawford and Russel, then moved to CPI Plans, and finally ChemTech corporation where she honed her management, logic and computer skills. In response to what she perceived as a need in the community, in 1985 she opened the DeVita Tutoring Service, where she shared her dedication as teacher and problem-solver with countless grateful students in a variety of areas.

She married Eugenio De Vita and moved to Connecticut in 1981, where she bore two children, Nicholas, who predeceased her in 2018, and Allegra. She and Gene made sure that their children received the very best education, giving their full attention towards the development of their individual personalities. Her devotion to her family eclipsed all else. It was symbolized in the entryway of her beautiful home which she designed with her husband. To welcome her guests, she had inscribed on the wall “OUR FAMILY: a Circle of strength and love, Founded on faith, Joined by love, Kept by God, Together Forever.”

Growing up in Queens, her love of music began at an early age, with piano lessons, her involvement with school musicals at St. Anne’s School, and trips to the Metropolitan Opera House with her family. Rose, a strong woman of Catholic faith, played the organ for church services for years at her home parish, St. Jude’s in Monroe. She later moved her family worship to St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull, CT, where she often served as lector and loved to listen to Allegra cantor High Holy mass.

Multi-talented and blessed with compassion for others, Rose was the living heart and soul of her family and community of friends. Rose’s abundant energies, her enthusiasm for exploration, and her attraction to crafts led her to register for quilting workshops, teach herself cross stitching, and join the community of those custom-designing greeting cards. No holiday was complete without a handmade card specially designed with love by her and her sister, Ann. She was an incredible cook, especially during the holidays. Her 32 cookie spread and multicourse Italian dinner, including homemade ravioli, was the highlight of extended family Christmases. She and Gene travelled the world in support of their children’s passions, first to Nicholas’s soccer games, and then to Allegra’s operatic performances. She never missed a single one, always ready to cheer-up and cheer on her children with a smile that lit up a room.

Her diagnosis of endometrial cancer in January was one that impacted her entire community, from her tightknit family to her close friends. She fought for 9 months through grueling chemotherapy and disabling immunotherapies, yet every picture of her is with a smile, and every e-mail and text started with “It’s ok, we will keep on fighting.” She passed away smiling and holding hands with the people who loved her the most.

Mourning her too-early death are her much-loved husband, Gene, and her devoted daughter Allegra, as well as her siblings, Ann Raia Colaneri, Philip and Judy Raia, Peter and Stavroula Raia, her godson John Colaneri, and a host of her nephews, nieces, and cousins on the De Vita and Raia sides of her family. In lieu of flowers, if you feel moved to, please make a donation in her memory to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she contributed to research in the fight against endometrial cancer. A mass will be livestreamed for her from St. Catherine’s of Siena in Trumbull, CT at 10am on Saturday December 12th, 2020. The family plans to have a celebration of her life at a future safe date.