Ann Rossi died April 11, 2017 at the Kinnic Health & Rehab in River Falls, WI. This became her final residence in 2008 after she suffered a stroke while wintering in Bartow, FL. Although the stroke left her partially paralyzed, it didn’t stop her from appreciating the beauty in the world. She organized and led a bell choir and played one-handed keyboard at sing-a-longs with her fellow residents, kept a motherly eye on the birds in the aviary, and used her electric wheelchair to independently get to concerts at the college, go to lunch with her girlfriends, and attend church each and every Sunday, without fail.
Ann was born on June 17, 1930 in Little Falls, NY to Wentworth and Mable Brown. She had an older sister, Emily, whom she loved dearly and precedes her in death. Ann was raised in upstate NY and received her bachelor’s degree in music from Fredonia State University where she met and married Bob Samarotto in 1956. The couple had two children and moved to River Falls in 1962. They divorced in 1970 and Ann and the kids returned to NY where she taught elementary music in Poughkeepsie until retiring in 1985.
Ann met and married the love of her life, Elivio (Lee) Rossi in 1983. Together they travelled, camped, laughed and loved until his death in 1993. Ann decided to return to River Falls to be closer to her daughter and two grandsons.
Music was always at the center of Ann’s life and she played the viola and violin in community orchestras and symphonies, sang in the church choir and played in the church bell choir. She was also director of the youth choir at her church and loved to again be teaching!
Ann lived a full life and will be greatly missed by many people, most especially by her kids, Paul Samarotto, Janet Samarotto (Hoffman), and step-daughter Leeann Kaminski (Rossi), as well as her grandsons, Timm Hoffman, Josh Hoffman, Matthew Kaminski, and Daniel Kaminski.
There will be a celebration of Ann’s life, filled with music and memories, Thursday, May 4, 2017 from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the River Falls United Methodist Church, 127 S. 2nd St., River Falls, WI, with a visitation starting at 6:00 pm.
Cashman-Hill Funeral Home & Cremation Service of River Falls, WI is assisting the family.