Mrs. Angela Rosa Roxy (Vecchiarelli) Casbarro

Good morning and thank you for being with us as we say goodbye to our dear Zia Rosa. Seeing all of you here today demonstrates how special this amazing person was. She would be truly touched.

For those of you who don’t know us, we are Nicole, Antonette and Enrico Capocci. Zia Rosa was our great great aunt, but she was so much more than that to us. Some people are lucky enough to have two grandmothers in their lives, but in our case, Zia Rosa was a third grandmother. She was our caregiver, our protector and referee. We wanted the opportunity to share our feelings and to pay tribute to a person who was so significant in our lives.

Angela Rosa Casbarro was born on May 16th, 1920 in Guardiareggia, Campobasso, Italy to parents Lucia & Nicola Vecchiarelli. She was the youngest of three; sister to Domenico & Maria. She grew up on a farm with her family, and even as a child, Zia Rosa worked hard. On September 9th, 1940, she married Domenico Casbarro and moved away from the farm to the city. Tragically their only son Matteo died in childbirth. Zia and Zizi then decided to move to Canada to live with her brother Domenico, his wife Sarafina and their sons Nick and Joe.

They settled into the family home on Saint Clarens where they lived together for nearly 50 years. Zia Rosa found work where she could put her formidable strength to good use. She became a supervisor at Liberty Furniture making chairs where she was easily the strongest woman and even outmatched most men she worked alongside.

I came across a fitting quote, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Zia Rosa was something special that happened in our lives for 99 years. It’s easy for us to look back at the countless memories and think about the ways she touched our lives. For example, she saved my mom’s life when she had a ruptured appendix, she would chaperone her nieces and nephews when they started dating, she was Jack’s sponsor… she was always there for her family. From those fun hose fights in summer, to trips to the galleria mall and Woolworth, to sharing countless bottles of bitter, every moment with Zia Rosa was special. She was fun loving, and even silly at times, like when she used to take out her false teeth just to make us laugh.

Zia Rosa was always generous, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t give to her family; all you had to do was ask. But the only thing Zia loved more than giving to her loved ones, was being with her loved ones. Simply spending time with family meant everything to her. Holiday’s, vacations at the cottage, special occasions & big family dinners were always filled with laughter and love.

When Zizi was sick, Zia Rosa nearly died but she held on. She fought and held on so she could see her family grow, get married and start families of their own. It brought her great joy to attend all these weddings and to meet not only great, great nieces and nephews. She loved us all and we loved her.

Before she died, she said she was okay, and that she was going home. That is where she is… home… in the palm of God’s hand and having some long awaited reunions with those she missed, long since passed… together again with her husband Domenico, holding her son Matteo in God’s eternal home.

We love you Zia, we will miss you, but we will see you again.