Rose Marie Romano, a woman of indomitable spirit and endless love, passed away peacefully at her home in Sparta on Aug. 22, 2025. She was 92.
Born on Sept. 4, 1932, in Newark, she was a true example of America’s “Greatest Generation,” embodying strength and resilience in every fiber of her being. She faced the world with a bright smile and beautiful green eyes that always held a twinkle.
In October 1959, Rose Marie began her most important and fulfilling life journey, raising three rambunctious boys on her own. She was more than a mother; she was their unwavering anchor, their fiercest advocate and their most important teacher, holding her boys to the highest standards.
Through her tireless work and sacrifice, she taught them the meaning of grit, work ethic, the value of a dollar and that “giving/giving back” was more important than receiving. Her legacy is not in the material things she accumulated but in the “never give up” attitude she instilled in her sons - a legacy that will be passed down for generations.
A multi-tasker before the word became popular, Rose Marie often held multiple jobs to keep a roof over her family’s heads. Her career culminated as an administrative assistant for Airoyal Co. in Maplewood, where she worked for more than 40 years before retiring in her 80s on Aug. 30, 2018.
Rose Marie’s greatest joy was celebrating life’s simple moments with her sons and family. She was a constant presence at her boys’ baseball games, met with their teachers to ensure they were getting good grades and cooked dinner every night after a long day’s work.
Her home was a gathering place where Sunday dinners and holidays were spent with cherished family members, including her hard-working Irish father, Harry McCabe, and her strong Slovakian mother, Mary Sabosik.
Her “all-star team” of high-character mentors for her boys also included her brother Harry and his wife Doris and her Aunt Betty and Uncle Henry.
She was a big New York Yankees fan and her boys soon followed in her footsteps. When they “adopted” the Oakland Raiders as their favorite football team, she immediately became a fan. Watching games and rooting for the Yanks and Raiders became a cherished tradition they shared for more than 50 years.
Another tradition that continues today is celebrating Christmas together. Christmas mornings were legendary, and the work and care she put forth to ensure her boys got everything on their lists was superhuman. While they received the gifts, they also saw how hard she worked to “give” while never asking for anything in return.
To this day, her sons have followed her lead, striving to help others in need and “give back” because of all the blessings they have received in their lives.
As a grandmother, “Gammy” was an incredible role model to all her grandkids, for whom she rarely missed an important event, always rewarded good schoolwork, and made sure her family celebrated their birthdays and holidays in grand style.
A warrior to the end, she battled cutaneous T-cell lymphoma for 33 years, outliving others on the same protocol by a decade. With God’s blessings, she also beat breast and colon cancer. She never complained, always found a way forward, and lived her life with a quiet grace that inspired her sons, their families, doctors, nurses and everyone around her.
Rose Marie was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Mary McCabe; her brother Harry and his wife Doris; their son Harry “Butch” McCabe; her aunt Betty and uncle Henry Hefter; and her uncle George and aunt Betty Sabosik.
She is survived by her three adoring sons and their wives, Robert and Anna, Ronald and his partner Sara Engle, and Raymond and Denise. She is also survived by her niece, Patricia Sabosik; nephew, George Sabosik; and her beloved grandchildren, Danielle Marie, Kaela Rose, Ronald William Jr. and his mom Kay Romano, Robert “Robby” John II, and Samantha Rae. Danielle Marie and her partner Marco Grasso blessed her with a great-grandson, Marco Grasso Jr.
Rose Marie will be profoundly missed, but her spirit lives on in the family she built and the strength she passed on. As a mom, she was one of one.
A Memorial Mass was Sept. 12 at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta.
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations in Rose Marie’s memory be made to the Photopheresis Center at Morristown Medical Center, c/o Foundation for Morristown Medical Center, 310 South St., 4th Floor, Morristown, NJ 07960. Donations also may be made online at f4mmc.org When making your donation, please select “Photopheresis Center” in the designation dropdown.