Calling Hours: 4 to 8 pm Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Mass: 10 am Thursday, April 14, 2016 at The Chapel at Fordham University at Rose Hill, Bronx
Lucy Agatha Rogan Carlesimo was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, a small anthracite coal mining town. She was the second youngest girl of ten children born to Mary Jane Messett and John Rogan. Papa, as we called our maternal grandfather, loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, pinochle, and Ballantine beer. He gave you a butterscotch ball when he saw you. Mama, as Lucy called her mother, was very tall and a good cook.
Lucy became a nurse and Operating Room Supervisor at Scranton State General Hospital in Scranton, PA, where she met her husband, Pete Carlesimo, the love of her life. Pete called Lucy Red because of her gorgeous red hair. Lucy called Pete Barney. Something to do with Barney Google. Pete was Athletic Director and coach at the University of Scranton. They married and had ten children: P.J., Cheryl, Gregg, Mark, Kevin, Tara, Mari, Sean, Rogan, and Cory. All of us called her Mommy. Both Mom and Dad made each one of us ten children feel like a treasured only child, and became to many of our friends the only parents they’d ever really known.
Lucy and Pete had exciting years together at the University of Scranton, and Fordham University, Pete’s Alma Mater, where he was Athletic Director, and later became the first full-time Director of the National Invitational Tournament. Lucy and Pete travelled with the NIT teams all over the world. And with Lucy and Pete planning your trip, these young men and women were taken to see churches and museums, as well as play basketball games. The years held many accolades and accomplishments. Lucy and Pete followed with great pride their oldest son P.J.’s exciting career as a college, Olympic, and then NBA coach.
Throughout the ninety-three years of her extraordinary life, Lucy was Mom to hundreds of our grade school, high school, and college friends. P.J. always had players from his many college and pro teams who took to calling her Mom. Lucy embraced the Holidays wholeheartedly and she managed to decorate our home for most of them. Flocks of our friends were recruited to help with the Christmas lights in the freezing cold while she prepared hot cocoa and her amazing cauldrons of soup. Saint Patrick’s Day was given special treatment by Lucy Rogan. The leprechauns magically crept in and hid gifts for the children while she treated the kids to an Irish Jig at the piano while we all danced.
One of Mom’s greatest gifts was making our house a home for our family’s huge constellation of friends. The genuine warmth and love she extended our friends began when they walked into our home and sat down at our kitchen table. Dinners were pretty much like holy days of obligation – we ate together and we always had “extended family” at those big tables. Lucy was an amazing cook but she really loved desserts and we all relished the spontaneous batches of fudge and butterscotch. Whether she was serving her amazing Chicken Tetrazzini or her famous cinnamon buns on Sunday mornings, our house was a haven for anyone looking for great food and a loving home.
In a moment of creative fun, Lucy named herself Lucia at her 70th birthday dinner at a picturesque restaurant in Monte Carlo on the 1992 Barcelona Olympic trip. And the name stuck! Lucia had a rolodex that spanned the generations and was the life of any party she attended. At the end of the evening, Lucia invariably asked, Where are we going now? As my friend Rachael said to me – your Mom’s always the most beautiful woman at the ball. Lucia was dressed to the nines, glittering with the diamonds that matched the sparkle of her personality and those bright blue eyes.
Lucy and Peter were fantastic grandparents. Lucy became Grandy to Gregg and Raphaelle’s Sean-Michael and Adrianna; to John and my twin daughters, Rogan and Maggie; to Mark and Patti’s Courtney, Alexis, and Jackie; to Kevin and Judee’s Dominique and Luke; to P.J. and Carolyn’s Kyle and Casey; and to Cory and Carrie’s Caia and Quinn. Grandy was the dream grandmother, dishing out fudge for breakfast, her gold bracelet with the ten heads, one for each child, jingling. I told my girls this was not the woman who raised me. .
When Daddy went to his well-deserved rest thirteen years ago, Lucy chose to relocate to New York City with Tara so that she could continue to be in the heart of things, and see her family and friends. Then seven years ago, she took a terrible fall. Like the warrior she is, Mommy fought back against overwhelming odds. She had to relearn the names of her children and learn to walk again. P.J. worked with her in the gym, beaming as he walked her down the hall for the first time. We could only marvel at her courage and perseverance. Thankfully, Mommy made a full mental recovery.
Lucy relocated to Bronxville, where Mark and his family live, for these last seven years. She had her own apartment with her devoted caregivers, Jean and Linda. We cannot say enough good things about Jean and Linda’s loving care. Mommy continued to enjoy the triumphs and excitements of her children and grandchildren. P.J. and Cory threw a great ninetieth birthday celebration for Lucia at the Jersey shore. Thank God, Lucy kept her sharp wit and mind. Even with a case of pneumonia, Mommy was talking to my daughter Rogan and me about Joe Johnson’s three-point shot in the hospital. During these years, we all admired her strength, courage, and stoic ability to endure all kinds of medical trials. There have been bouts of congestive heart disease, infections, and blood disease with endless tests. Mommy never complained or was impatient with anyone. And, of course, we marveled at her abiding, enduring Catholic faith.
Mommy always knew her mind and finally vowed not to return to the hospital, and so the wonderful people from Calvary Home Hospice entered our lives in 2013. There is no way to describe their kindness, loving care, and contribution to Mommy’s quality of life in these last years: Yahaira, Lynette, Joshua, Evan, the doctor and staff have all been outstanding. They supported Mommy, Jean, Linda, and all of us, and gave her the chance to die at home with grace and dignity. Cory’s assistant, Helen, watched over her ceaselessly. Our dear friend Doctor Ingrid cared for Mom as a daughter would. Every day, when we asked, How are you, Lucy? – we always got the same answer – Wonderful! It was inspiring to us all.
We always thought that Mommy would go when she was ready. One day she would want to see Daddy, her beloved Barney, and her sisters, brothers and parents. And one day, her indomitable will and spirit would say: “It’s time to rest. I am tired.” And that day finally came. We all wish Lucy well on her journey. No one gave more, loved more, or has earned her heavenly rest more.
Mommy, we wish you peace.
As the Irish poet William Butler Yeats said in his poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree;
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
Please see below for options of how people can give to FACES in her memory:
Visit the FACES Website
Www.nyufaces.org
In the top right corner of the screen, select “Make a Gift”
Enter gift amount and select “In Memory Of”
Enter “Lucy Carlesimo”
The family of Lucy will be notified of your support in her memory
Send check to the FACES Office
Please send checks to: FACES, attn: Rebecca Kornstein, 223 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016
Enclose a note stating that this contribution is in memory of Lucy Carlesimo.
The family of Lucy will be notified of your support in her memory.
Leave a Condolence