Obituary of Rose Marie Pignatore

Rose Marie (Del Tufo) Pignatore, 96, of Wayne passed away on September 29, 2015 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, NJ. Born in Newark to Grace (Casale) and Michael L. Del Tufo, she was the first grandchild on both sides and the oldest of seven children. She grew up in Newark and Belleville, graduating from Belleville High School in 1937. In 1942 she married Nicholas L. Pignatore of Nutley and they celebrated 52 years of marriage, raising three children and multiple grandchildren. They moved to Wayne in 1952 where they were active in Holy Cross RC Church in Mountain View. Nick and Rose loved to travel, spending their free time and retirement years seeing the world. On one of their trips they exited the MS Achille Lauro just as the hijackers boarded. Rose even traveled to Turkey in her 80's. She had a strong dedication to work, continuing as a bookkeeper until age 85. She was an avid card player, be it Bridge, Skipbo or Solitaire. She loved coffee, sweets, parties and dancing. Rose always looked her best, wearing the latest fashion and never being seen without her nails and hair done. But most of all, Rose loved her large extended family. Rose is survived by her children, Elace (Bob) Distefano, Donna Cialone, and John (Jeanne) Pignatore. She had six grandchildren, Jennifer Distefano (Tim Morrison), Carl Distefano, Annisia Cialone (James Cornell), Carla Cialone, Nicolas (Amy) Pignatore and Maya Pignatore (Kyle Price-Livingston), and she was blessed with five great grandchildren, Grace and Josephine Morrison, Carmen Cialone, Beckett and Rocco Cornell. She will also be missed by her siblings, Jeanette Orsini, Leslie Del Tufo and Grace (Joseph) Napolitano and her brother-in-law, Jerry Ringi. She had 19 nieces and nephews, 47 great-nieces and great-nephews and 39 great-great nieces and great-great nephews. Rose was predeceased by her husband, Nicholas, her brothers, Daniel and Michael and her sister, Josephine Ringi. Visiting will be 9-10 a.m. on October 5, 2015 at the funeral home followed by Mass at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, 630 Valley Rd, Wayne celebrated by Fr. Peter Wells. Burial will follow at Glendale Cemetery 28 Hoover Avenue in Belleville. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local food bank. Rose loved to feed people.