Liliane DeRosa

                Liliane Dorion DeRosa of Wilton, wife of Frank DeRosa for almost 57 years, died peacefully at Norwalk Hospital on Feb.14. She was 82.

                A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Wilton on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. The wake will be held at Magner Funeral Home in Norwalk on Friday, Feb. 22, from 4 to 8 p.m.

                Mrs. DeRosa was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis on Jan. 22. Many members of her large family were at her bedside when she passed away.

                Born in Quebec City Nov. 3, 1936, she was one of seven children of Lucien and Germaine Pare Dorion. A registered nurse, she attended Infant Jesus Nursing School in Quebec, affiliated with Laval University.

                Mrs. DeRosa came to the United States in 1958 and served at several hospitals during her nursing career, including New Rochelle Hospital and New York Hospital, as well as the Lourdes Health Care Center of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Wilton for 15 years.

She and her husband were married in Quebec April 28, 1962, and they lived first in Brooklyn, then on Staten Island before moving to Wilton in July 8, 1972.

Together they raised five children in Wilton---Michelle, Lorraine, Denise, Claudine and Frank, all of whom graduated from Our Lady of Fatima School, Wilton High School and The Catholic University of America in Washington. They and their spouses, in turn, made her a grandmother 17 times---14 boys and three girls.

Always an active person, she often jogged, sometimes up to ten miles, after her shift at the Lourdes Health Care Center. Then she would produce balanced meals for her family, never ignoring the tastes of her Italian-American husband, though she was French Canadian.

Cooking and baking, especially her breads, were never a chore, but an expression of her belief that you started from scratch, not from pulling something off the store shelf.

The jogging she did faithfully for many years once resulted in a top finish for her age group in the Wilton Parks and Recreation 5-mile road race in 1991. She walked a mile or two a day even into her 80s.

Mrs. DeRosa had a deep Catholic faith, Rosary beads in every pocket book and frequent morning-Mass goer at Our Lady of Fatima. It sustained her throughout her life.                                                                         For many years, she was an Our Lady of Fatima parish volunteer at the Manna House Soup Kitchen in Norwalk, serving guests on Tuesdays.

In 2012 she was admitted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. The Order supports the work and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. DeRosa is survived by five children and their spouses: Michelle and Robert Tobia of Rosemont, Penn.; Lorraine and Kevin Black of Wilton; Denise and Raymond Hassett of Glastonbury, Conn.; Claudine and Timothy Sullivan of Glastonbury, Conn., and Frank and Elizabeth DeRosa of West Chester, Penn.

She is also survived by her grandchildren: Robert Tobia, Jr., and his wife Jacqueline of Berwyn, Penn.; Christopher, Stephen and Joseph Tobia of Rosemont, Penn.; Kevin, Jr., Thomas, Peter and William Black of Wilton; Andrew Hassett of Dover, N.H., Meghan and Daniel Hassett of Glastonbury, Conn.; Timothy, Jr., Sean and Patrick Sullivan of Glastonbury, Conn.; and Frank, Jr., Mary and Catherine DeRosa of West Chester, Penn.

Burial will be in Hillside Cemetery in Wilton.

Donations in Mrs. DeRosa’s name can be made to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, 1011 First Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022, or Our Lady of Fatima Church, 229 Danbury Road, Wilton, Conn. 06897.