Obituary of Rosa Maria DiSalvo-Kelsey

Rosa Maria DiSalvo Kelsey, more commonly known as Rosie, at 92 passed away at home on Friday, July 16, 2021. Born in Newark, NJ to Giuseppe DiSalvo of Palermo Sicily and Cesarina Maimone of Troina Sicily, married in 1950 William P. Kelsey of Freehold (deceased 2005) where she resided for the rest of her life. She was Chief Medical Records Clerk for J.L. Montgomery Medical Home retiring with 25 years of service. Rosa Maria and William had five children: Michael (deceased), Anne who resides in NY, Maureen in Denmark, William in CA and James in NC. There are six grandchildren: Christine, Patrick, Andrew, Colleen, Raquel and Trevor. She was an avid baker, fan of Englishtown Auction, and in retirement embraced dancing, golfing, participating member and community supporter of YMCA programs and the VFW and would never pass on an opportunity for opera in NYC. At age 80 she realized a lifelong dream learning to swim and passed it forward to other apprehensive seniors. Above all, Rosa Maria found great enjoyment in traveling the world with her husband, children or grandchildren to Italy, Russia, Denmark, England, France, Belgium, Costa Rica and many times to Sicily. Her most special travel was to Troina, Sicily, her mother’s hometown. In 2004 Rosa Maria became a dual citizen of Italy facilitating citizenship for Maureen and Michael. A memorial gathering will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Friday, July 23, 2021 from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by a graveside service at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Freehold. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: St. Jude Children Hospital, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4374, Freehold or the Wounded Warrior Project. following the graveside service, an open house with light refreshments will be held until 1:30 PM at her late residence.