Rose Norcia's Obituary
Rose A. (Calderone) Norcia, 96, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 25, 2024 at the Rockingham County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Brentwood, NH, with family members by her side.
Mrs. Norcia was born on November 7, 1927 to the late Ernest and Emily (Melucci) Calderone. The eldest of the seven Calderone children, she was born and raised in Methuen, MA. Rose attended Methuen schools, including the former Searles High School. At Searles, she would meet Anthony “Tony” Norcia who on June 9, 1946 would become her husband. They would go on to celebrate 73 years of marriage. Rose and Tony made their home and would raise their two children in Methuen. She lived in Methuen until the passing of her husband, Tony, in 2020.
In her early years, Rose would help her mother take care of her 6 younger siblings. It seemed to set her up in life to become the doting and caring mother, grandmother, and great grandmother she was. She spent her adult years working at the former Western Electric and then had a career at Raytheon Companies that spanned more than 30 years until her retirement.
In her free time, Rose enjoyed crocheting and cooking. She also spent many years travelling with her husband in the numerous motor homes they owned. It started out with local trips to Salisbury and Hampton beaches. The beach getaways included riding her bicycle up and down the coast and even riding a motor scooter at times. These local getaways eventually led to going across the country two times. She loved seeing all the sites the United States had to offer and enjoyed stopping in to see relatives and friends along the way. Eventually Rose and Tony, or Ro & To as they were affectionally known to many, would settle for spending winters at their place in Largo, FL. While in Florida, they made many new friends and became active in the Elks club. Once their years in Florida came to an end, Rose literally took the wheel and would be the one to drive her and Tony from place to place. Hampton and Salisbury beaches were still a favorite and Newburyport as well. Rose’s favorite destination was a drive to see family, always honking the horn upon arrival and departure. Rose’s number one love though was her family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved to dote on them all and was a supporter of their numerous extracurricular activities. She was also extremely proud of her numerous nieces and nephews. Although Rose worked hard while employed, she was also the consummate homemaker. There was always a hot meal being cooked and the house was clean and well organized. Everything had a place, and everything was in its place. Whenever anyone came by her house for a visit, they never left hungry and if they weren’t hungry when they arrived, well, they were going to eat anyway. She took fastidious notes while talking to someone on the phone about something important, made notes for herself and notes for others all in impeccable penmanship. This is something that held true to the very end.
Those that crossed paths with Rose along the way seem to use words like sweetheart, kindhearted, thoughtful, and generous just to name a few. She wore her smile often and it was infectious. Even if you only met her once, you were generally greeted by that warm smile, a hearty hug and usually a little peck on the cheek. She will be dearly missed by many.
Rose is survived by her two children, daughter Joyce (Cabuzzi) Gonthier and her husband Roger of Danville, NH and son Michael Norcia and his wife JoAnn of Londonderry NH. Rose also leaves behind five grandchildren, Kevin Cabuzzi and wife Charlene, Jolene Beaulieu and husband Stephane, Gina Bozek and husband Joe, Michael Norcia and wife Elizabeth and Jeff Norcia. She was also blessed with eight great grandchildren Brittany Cabuzzi, Courtney Cabuzzi, JR Bozek, Benjamin Bozek, Angelina Beaulieu, Gianna Bozek, Rory Norcia and Riley Norcia. She also leaves behind her two surviving siblings, Beverly McNamara and June Patton as well as numerous nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly and unconditionally.
The family would like to take this opportunity to give a heartfelt thank you to the staff at Foxden Assisted Living in Sandown, NH, and The Rockingham County Rehab and Nursing Center in Brentwood NH, for their loving care of Rose while she resided there.
Family and friends are invited to honor and celebrate Rose’s life by gathering for her calling hours on Monday, March 4, 2024 from 4 – 8pm at the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home, 233 Lawrence Street, Methuen, MA. Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Tuesday at St. Lucy Church, 254 Merrimack Street, Methuen MA. Burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Methuen.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rockingham County Resident Fund, 117 North Road Brentwood, NH. Please include "Residents Fund" in memo section of the check. For directions or to send an online condolence, please visit www.pollardfuneralhome.com. The Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home is honored to serve the Norcia family.
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