Joan Roses

Joan (Daleo) Roses of Coconut Creek, Florida, age 95, passed peacefully on November 8, 2025, at home, surrounded by family, in the fullness of her days and a good old age.

Born in the Bronx in 1930, during the deepening crisis of the Great Depression, Joan was the daughter of Pasquale (Wallace) Daleo and Clara Fassler. At the time of her birth, her parents had to move in with her Daleo grandparents to weather the economic hardships. Joan spent her earliest nights sleeping in a dresser drawer, but near the end of her life she was FaceTiming her grandchildren from her iPad. A humble beginning set the path for the resilience and resourcefulness that would define her life.

Gentle, intelligent, creative, kind, humble, and capable, Joan was beloved by all who knew her.

In 1941, the Daleo family moved to Astoria, Queens, to be near her Fassler grandparents. In school, Joan was recognized for her talented artwork and won various contests, one of which was the John Wanamaker Twenty-Fourth Annual Drawing Competition. After graduating from Bryant High School, she went to work for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Her job was in replacement policies which were elegant and decorative in the 1950s-and had to be typed without errors. One Friday, a friend from work invited her to her grandmother's Sabbath dinner in the Bronx, where Joan met her friend's "Uncle Label," as she called him (Aaron), who was the same age. The coworker asked her uncle to drive Joan home in his father's car. "It's just over the bridge to Astoria," she told him. In 1951—during the Korean War— Joan married Aaron L. Roses while he was on furlough from the U.S. Army. Together, they lived in a fifth-floor walk-up apartment, where they raised three daughters: Dianne, Linda, and Nancy. While her children were young, Joan was active in the PTA at PS5. One of her volunteer positions was helping newly arrived children learn English, when formal support in schools was minimal. During those few years at home, Joan also sewed clothing for her children on a Singer sewing machine using Simplicity Patterns. In 1975, at age 45, Joan was widowed when her husband died suddenly while on a camping trip in Copake, New York. Joan worked hard all her life. Throughout her life, she held positions such as typist for Scholastic Books, secretary for Congregation Beth-El of Astoria, and administrative assistant at Standard Motor Products. During one brief period in the 1970s, she tried working her regular full-time job at Standard while also working part-time two nights a week and Saturdays in the Hallmark card section of Pathmark Supermarket, and on Sundays at Walken's Bakery on Broadway. In the 1980s, Joan relocated to Florida to be near her newly born first granddaughter and continued working until the age of 70. In retirement, Joan spent time crocheting, sewing, reading books, going to the movie theater, and enjoying time with her family. They were her pride and joy. Remarkably independent, Joan lived on her own until age 95. Joan's sense of humor and positivity stayed with her throughout her life, bringing happiness to her family even in her final days. Our hearts are broken.
May He who makes peace in His high places grant peace for us, Israel, and all the world. And let us say: Amen.

Survivors include her daughters: Dianne Roses Walsh of Colorado; Linda Wallis Roses of Florida, and her husband, John Fitzgerald (deceased); Nancy R. Roses of Florida, her husband, Charles H. Harrison Jr. Granddaughters Caitlin Elizabeth Middleton of Colorado, and her husband Matthew; Jessica Pearl Harrison Roses of New York; Clara Autumn Harrison Roses of Florida; and great-grandson Marlow Aaron Middleton of Colorado. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and cousins. Joan was predeceased by her husband, Aaron L. Roses; her sister, Susan Weinstein; and her brother, Charles Daleo.
A funeral service will be held Sunday, November 16, at 10:00 a.m. at Star of David Memorial Chapels in West Babylon, New York, followed by burial in New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon, New York.