Rosaria Higgins

We celebrate the life of Rosaria Higgins, a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her commitment to family and friends is a reflection of her deep faith and incredible character, which touched all in her life. She was born in Naples, Italy in 1937, the daughter of Antonio and Maria Bonamico and sister to her beloved brother Saverio.

She later married and after her first child, left Italy in 1957 to proudly become a U.S. citizen. As an American, she became known as Rose, a mother to three, Laura, Robert (E.V.), and Marie (David), and a loving wife to her husband Gary. A grandmother to 7: Bobby (Shari), Tiffany (Mauricio), Mark, Alex, Elena, Emily (Max), and David (Allison); and great-grandmother to 9: Alexandria, Aidan, Bobby, Noah, Grant, Jude, Raelynn, Tucker, and Oakleigh.

Professionally, she was proud to retire from Bank of America after 20 years of service. During that time, she earned several awards for her exemplary service and the respect of her colleagues.

Rose is remembered for her selfless dedication to her family, ensuring every last detail was carefully prepared for every occasion. Holidays and special events were filled with an abundance of food and decorations to make it a joyous experience and always honored her faith. With cooking skills honed at a young age by her mother’s side, she would work tirelessly with loving attention to prepare the perfect feast. Without any formal training, Rose also spent countless hours making beautiful flower arrangements for family weddings, outshining any florist. She loved playing games; in her early years she was the family checkers champion and then later became a master at Rummikub, taking great pleasure in challenging her family. She had an infectious sense of humor and loved a good practical joke. She routinely joked with loved ones, reminding them not to worry about trivial matters or take themselves too seriously.

As a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, Rose was oftentimes found playing on the floor or dancing with the children she adored. Rose also loved pictures of her family and diligently browsed through her kids' files playfully accusing them of hoarding and insisting she receive copies of all they had. She enjoyed family gatherings in Lake Tahoe, Sedona, and especially Hawaii, which is where she originally met her loving husband of 50 years. As a devoted parishioner, she took great pleasure in teaching catechism to young children for nearly two decades, proudly celebrating their milestones with praise and encouragement. Kids she previously taught would often run to her side at church to greet her with a big hug. Affectionately referred to by her grandchildren as “little grandma”, Rose stood 4 feet, 11 inches yet possessed tremendous strength and conviction in the values most important in her life. She instilled a drive in her children to believe in themselves and do what is right. Rose would always say her strength came from her faith. She was the center of the family, actively teaching and practicing what she believed in her daily life.

To our mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, spouse, and friend we are forever grateful to you and will miss you and honor you forever.

Your loving family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to FRG Ministry (www.frgministry.com/donate) dedicated to Rosaria Higgins in the comments.