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Rosella Burtness Lucarelli, 102, of Vero Beach, Florida, passed away December 31, at the VNA Hospice House.
Second oldest of nine children, she was born in Junesberry, Minnesota on August 17, 1916 and raised on a farm in ND. She moved to NJ where she completed her high school education.
While in NJ, she met her husband, Peter Lucarelli. They married in 1942 and began raising a family of 3 girls. In 1959, the family moved to Miami, FL where Peter and Rosella would live together until his death in 1987. Rosella retired from JByrons in Miami after twenty years as the manager of the Children’s Department. From 1992 through 2016, she lived in Ft. Lauderdale. In August 2016, Rosella celebrated her 100th birthday with many family members and friends in Vero Beach, where she lived until her death.
Rosella is survived by her daughters, Gail Melograno (Tony), Karen Lucarelli (Scott MacDowell), Robin Lucarelli (Joel Byrd); her granddaughters Allison Melograno, Leslie MacDowell, and Julie MacDowell; and her sister, Ardith Kelly, who resides in Sedro-Woolley, WA.
Rosella was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She loved spending time with her family, telling stories about life on the farm and cheering for her favorite teams: the New York Yankees, FSU Seminoles and the Miami Dolphins.
Rosella leaves us with this pearl of wisdom, taken from her 1938 high school year book, “My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope.”
A celebration of her life is planned for a later date.
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