Rosa was born in Stamford on Sept. 17, 1912, to August and Katherine (Claps) Gargiulo.
She was a student in the Stamford School System and graduated from eighth grade with honors. She postponed her high school education upon her father's death in 1926 to stay home and raise her brother and sisters while their mother, Katherine, ran the family business, August Gargiulo Grocer and Fruiterer in Stamford.
After helping to raise her siblings, Rosa entered a lifetime career in the fashion industry. She was tutored in the finer aspects of fashion and dressmaking by Madame Alexander of Greenwich.
She worked at the Square Silk Shop on Atlantic Street and Kramer Brothers on Broad Street, where she made custom tailored clothing for a large and varied clientele. She then moved onto the theatre production company, "The Paper Bag" players of New Jersey. From there she was discovered by NBC and worked as a designer and dressmaker for the Radio City Music Hall Production Company, The Rockettes.
After leaving NBC, Rosa saw an opportunity to be closer to Pound Ridge and Stamford and worked as the head designer and dressmaker for the Cherida Dress Shop in New Canaan. After 18 years with Cherida, she started her own business.
Rosa taught sewing at Pins and Needles to young children and mentored young boys via telephone for the Omaha Home for Boys. She was active in the Pound Ridge Community Church and was the past president of the Pound Ridge Women's Auxiliary of the Pound Ridge Volunteer Fire Department.
She is survived by her son, Richard August Rosa of Pound Ridge, N.Y.; two granddaughters in Florida; one great-granddaughter in Florida; and a sister-in-law in Torrington, Conn.
She was predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Louis Rosa; her daughter, Bianca R. Bucciarelli; her sisters, Maria Gargiulo, Norma G Bornhauser, Alda G. Giannini; and her brother, Alfred A. Gargiulo.
Burial at Woodland Cemetery in Stamford will be private. A memorial service will take place at the Pound Ridge Community Church on Saturday at 1 p.m., immediately followed by a reception for family and friends in the church's Commons Room.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks those to consider a gift in Rosa’s name to the Pound Ridge Community Church, 3 Pound Ridge, Pound Ridge NY 10576 or the Omaha Home for Boys, 4343 N. 52nd St., Omaha, NE 68104.
Online condolences may be made here.
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