Obituary of Rose Petito

Ms. Rose Petito passed away peacefully on February 24, 2025 at the age of 83. Proudly born in Bedford-Stuyvesant on August 30, 1941, Rose lived her entire life in Brooklyn, New York. Rose is regretfully predeceased by her beloved son Jerome Rocco Jimenez, her parents, Frank Petito and Lucy Acerno, and her siblings Alexander Petito, Josephine Nieves, Mary Lucenti, and Rocco Petito. She is survived by her older sister Caroline Ruisi and baby brother Joseph Petito, whom she loved dearly. She is also survived by her three beautiful daughters, Lisa Jimenez, June Tesoriero, and Erica Jackson, son-in-law Robert Tesoriero, grandchildren Rose Jimenez, Jerome Jimenez, Jr., Robert Tesoriero, Jr., Jason Jimenez, Genese Ramie, and Anthony Tesoriero, and many, many nieces and nephews. Rose Petito was a fierce individual who prided herself on being a hard worker and a wisecracker, and always having enough food on her table for all who cared to sit there. She was a proud supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, and helped anyone who came to her door; she fed many children both in her extended family and in her neighborhood, and handed out candy to all the kids in her building. Her first hustle as a child was collecting and cleaning rags, selling them for a penny a pound to businesses. At 14, she worked in a paper cup factory with her sister Caroline, using their sister Mary’s ID card to apply because she was not yet old enough to work there. By the 1960’s she had her own coffee shop, selling milkshakes and hamburgers in Brownsville with her German shepherd, Fritz, by her side as a security measure. In 1969, she opened a bodega on E. 21st St. and Mermaid Ave. in Coney Island. For 27 years, Rose worked at CNA Insurance in the World Trade Center, where she survived the 1993 bombing, and personally saved many lives by helping others evacuate as an establishment Fire Marshal. While she was devastated to be forced into early retirement from CNA in early 2001, it was a blessing in disguise. She happily spent many of her retirement years babysitting her grandchildren. Rose had simple pleasures in life: mani-pedis, flowers, birthday cake, western movies, and dancing. She loved to work with children, such as serving as a Girl Scout leader while Lisa was in the Cadets and June was a Brownie, and sponsoring Erica through the pageant circuit. She took great pride in buying extravagant Christmas, Easter, and birthday gifts for her grandchildren–even if it had to be on layaway. She also helped out at Sunday school in the Roman Catholic church, although she had a personal relationship to God that she felt transcended the confines of earthly religions. Today, the world feels a little bit emptier. While the hole left in Rose’s wake is vast, the family of Rose Petito strives to carry on her legacy and continue to make her proud. Obituary prepared by Lisa Jimenez, Rose Jimenez, and Robert Tesoriero, Jr.