HARPSWELL, ME: Rosina (Calzoni) Rossi, 97, formerly of Corning Street, Beverly, MA died peacefully Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at the home of her daughter, Paola Biola, in Harpswell, Maine, surrounded by the love of her daughter, niece Stacy, great niece Adelaide and her beloved caregiver, Laurie.
Born in Perugia, Umbria, Italy on November 10, 1912, she was the daughter of the late Luigi and Giulia (Temperini) Calzoni. Rosina lost her husband, Vittorio Biola, in 1945. She came to the United States in 1950 as a practical nurse to Count Federico Guardabassi and remained a faithful servant in the family for over thirty years. She remained a single mother until 1957 when she married the late Louis Rossi of 113 Corning Street with whom she shared 31 years of marriage.
Rosina touched many lives on both sides of the Atlantic. Her home on Corning Street was always open to neighbors, friends and family. There was always room to feed or lodge one more person. Following her retirement, she was a daily communicant at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.
Rosina leaves behind her daughter, Paola Biola; her sister, Rina Biola of Perugia, Italy; and her beloved stepchildren: Marie George of Warwick, RI, Guy Rossi of Beverly, Yolanda Frederikse of Kensington, MD., Louis Rossi, Jr. of Ocala, Fla., Dr. Rita Colwell, wife of Jack Colwell of Bethesda, MD., Alfred “Ben”, husband of Angelica Rossi of Manchester-by-the-Sea. She leaves also eighteen grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren. Rosina was also predeceased by two sisters, Maria Orecchini and Giuseppa Lucarelli, and three brothers, Antonio, Giovanni and Vittorio Calzoni.
Her funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday morning at 11 a.m. in St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Cabot Street, Beverly, MA. Visiting hours will be held on Thursday in the Grondin Funeral Home, 376 Cabot Street, Beverly, from 5 to 8 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations to the following organizations are recommended, St. Mary Star of the Sea School, 13 Chapman St., Beverly, MA 01915, Safe Passage, 81 Bridge St., Yarmouth, ME 04096, Georgetown University Annual Fund, Dept. No. 0734, Washington, DC 20073-0734. Interment will be held in Perugia, Italy.