Rose Marie Schepis, age 89, of Hackettstown died Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at home in Hackettstown. Rose was born April 15, 1929 in Bronx, NY. She is the daughter of the late Louis and Bernadette (Scurria) Baudo.
The two most important things to know about Rose Schepis are that she was Italian and that she was a grandmother. She carried both these titles proudly above anything else. Her grandchildren were funny, smart, adventurous, good looking, talented, and total catches
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Whether any of that was actually true would never matter and we would pity the fool who dared challenge any of those notions. The best attribute any of us possessed outside these outstanding qualities was that we were all, at least half Italian, and to be specific, Sicilian. Sicilians posses not only soul but fight. We come from an Island that has faced invasions and fought for our heritage. Her children and grandchildren were the reflection of that. The only thing that made her prouder than being a Sicilian was being an American. Born April 15th, 1929, the daughter of immigrants who traveled through Ellis Island, Rose Schepis was a first generation American. She married Joseph Schepis on May 1, 1949 , also a first generation American who served his country aboard a Navy Destroyer in WWII. Together they raised three daughters, Maria, Bernadette and Rosemarie, all the first members of their family to be college graduates. Rose, a professional seamstress in her youth, never lost her love or talent for sewing. She found her identity, aside from her family, with her talent for creating beautiful clothes and crafts. Her sewing machine sat proudly in the corner of her home until her last days, even in nursing care. If you visited her home, you would know her kitchen always held a statue of Mother Cabrini, several pounds of butter for her constant baking, and every unclaimed button and color of spool of thread in the Tri-State area. Any family member or friend with a wayward blazer or pair of trousers in need of a lost button or patch need go no further than her, even if it meant surrendering what they were wearing for repairs against their will as her son-in-laws quickly learned. Her strength of spirit, love for her family, and creative spirit will forever be her life achievements.
She is survived by her children, Maria and Curt Jewett, Bernadette Theiss, Rosemarie and John Caporale and her grandchildren, Valerie Jewett, Elizabeth Jewett, Charles Theiss, Christopher (Lee) Theiss, Kevin (Brittany) Theiss, Joseph Caporale, Geena Caporale and Dominic Caporale.
A chapel service will be held at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla, New York on Friday, March 29th.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 12:00 pm at Gate Of Heaven Cemetery, 10 West Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY with officiating.