It is with deep sorrow that we are announcing the death of Rosanna K. Hampton, who left us on Monday, March 3, 2025, surrounded by her beloved husband and the family she fiercely loved during her beautiful life.
A graduate of Felician University and Seton Hall University, Rosanna worked as a nurse for 50 years. She began her career as a cardiac/ICU nurse and most recently was employed as a recovery room nurse at the Wayne Surgical Center.
But this doesn’t begin to capture the hundreds of lives she touched as a health-care professional and healer who freely offered her time, her expertise and her heart to anyone who needed her help or counsel, no matter where, when or how the need presented itself.
Rosanna healed many of us during the toughest times.
Which brings us to the other great passion of her life: her family.
In the summer, you could find Ro by the pool or on the beach with her kids, grandkids and siblings. She loved the beach condo she and Robert bought in Ponce Inlet, Fla., and freely offered it to friends and family. If you wanted to make Ro happy, all you had to do was let her know you were coming down to visit.
She never missed Halloween with her grandsons. Every birthday and holiday were another reason to come together and celebrate. She threw herself into Christmas with the energy of an elf - we all looked forward to receiving the fun annual Christmas card photo of Ro and her family dressed up in their holiday PJs.
Her Christmas cookie platters were legendary. Who knew one person could bake that many sugary confections and still manage to pull off a magnificent holiday filled with gifts, fun, laughter and family, of course.
The last great celebration was her daughter Katie’s wedding in November. Is there a picture more memorable than a mother celebrating one of the happiest days of her daughter’s life? Rosanna danced all night with her husband, her friends and her family, adding one last happy memory to the rich tableau of her life.
Rosanna is survived by her husband, Robert L. Hampton; daughter Katharine P. Hampton, and her spouse, Theresa Acosta; daughter Stephanie A. Hampton; son Robert J. Hampton and his spouse, Erika T. Hampton, along with their sons, Adrian Madriles, Robert A. Hampton and Christopher J. Hampton; son Jonathan C. Hampton and his partner, Lyndsey Petrino, along with their son, Simon; her mother, Katharine Fodi; sister, Susan Welsh, and her spouse, Edward Welsh; brother, Joseph Fodi, and his spouse, Lauren Fodi; 15 nieces and nephews who adored her; and finally, her two devoted fur babies, Lola and Stella.
There will be a visitation Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Ferguson-Vernon Funeral Home, 241 Route 94, Vernon, (for GPS use 1 Vanderhoof Court).
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, March 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church, 614 McAfee-Glenwood Road, Vernon.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. (cholangiocarcinoma.org)