Rose Tomei Obituary

Tomei, Rose M. 91, born July 18, 1915, in Rondout, IL, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 8th in Lake Bluff, IL. Rose was the daughter of Conchetta Maria Falotico and Francesco Adamo of Calabria. Rose met Charles Tomei shortly after he got "off the boat" from Rome, Italy in 1932. She didn't like him too much at first. She said that his brother Pietro kept trying to pinch her. She finally calmed down and they married in 1933. They celebrated 51 years of marriage. Rose and Charles had 5 sons; Fred, Charles, Michael, Ronald and David Tomei. Rose had 18 siblings and all were born at home in Rondout that was built by her father. The house is still standing today. Rose was the last surviving child and had many funny and interesting stories about her life and childhood; one being that when she was 9 years old she was walking to school on what is now Laura Ave in Rondout and was struck by a stray bullet that was fired during The Great Train Robbery of Rondout. She carried that bullet with her (literally) her whole life. Rose loved cooking, canning, needlepoint, baking and caring for her five boys. She passed down her "sauce" recipe to JoAnn, her daughter-in-law and taught her granddaughter, Aimee how to make the famous Easter Bread. To many of her granddaughters, she instilled that no house was complete without a cabinet full of Tupperware and a vanity full of Avon products. She was always teaching her grandkids some Italian words, of course they never knew what they meant until they repeated them to their father and got in trouble. Rose never could drive a car and when she did, it always resulted in some type of lawn or home repair. She did learn how to "drive" a scooter at "The Jewel" after nearly knocking over the soda machine and putting a dent in it. She watched her great grandson, Ian, after school when she was in her 80's. They enjoyed each other in the afternoons; his memory was watching the Animal Planet channel and he would sing and dance for her and she would make him hot dogs. Rose never liked her picture taken and if you were able to snap one, you were lucky. Prior to Rose's death, there were five generations of Tomei's living. The Tomei family spans the country literally from Alaska to California to New York to Georgia. Some are very well known; both in the movie industry and unfortunately by law enforcement. Rose moved with Charles to Denver, CO in 1973. Her husband always wanted to go there because the mountains reminded him of Italy. Charles passed away in 1983 and Rose remained there until 1994 when she moved back to Illinois. Rose will be taken back to Colorado and laid to rest near her husband. Rose was preceded in death by her husband Charles and sons, Fred and Michael. Rose is survived by sons, Charles F. Tomei of San Angelo, TX, Ronald J. Tomei of Cathedral City, CA and David Tomei of Chicago, IL; Peter Ciavarella, her brother-in-law of Orland Park, IL; 18 grandchildren and many beautiful great and great-great-grandchildren .....and the legacy continues to grow. She touched our lives, made us smile and laugh, supported us and left us all with a picture book of memories in our hearts. Friends may gather at the Salata - Gurnee Funeral Home, 4190 Old Grand Ave., Gurnee from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 12, 2007. Memorial services will be held at 7 p.m. at the funeral home with Fr. James E. Merold officiating. Interment will be private. Visit our online guestbook www. gurneefuneralhome.com.