By Henrik Kroguius
Rose Lambrosa, who had owned and managed brownstones in Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens, died October 14, two weeks after her 107th birthday, her grandson Louis V. Fasulo reported. As late as September 29 she walked to the drugstore for a flu shot, he said, before a sudden final illness for which she was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Hospital officials there said she was the second oldest person ever admitted, according to Mr. Fasulo.
With her husband Joseph Lambrosa, who died in 1990, she had owned the Bromaco Macaroni Corporation, reportedly the first macaroni producer in the United States. Later they opened the Salsina Tomato Cannery Company in Santa Clara, California, and were the country’s first producers of canned tomatoes. Contadina eventually purchased their business.
After living in Carroll Gardens, the Lambrosas moved to Brooklyn Heights, where Mrs. Lambrosa became a successful real estate investor, owning and managing a number of historic properties. Her grandson said these included buildings on Remsen, Henry, President and Union Streets, as well as Grace Court and Atlantic Avenue.
An obituary notice in Sunday’s New York Times said, “Rose’s life was defined by her hard work, love of life and independence.” It also called her “a savvy business woman and a philanthropic presence in Brooklyn for over a century.”
Mrs. Lambrosa’s grandson recalled that she loved to walk along the Heights Promenade and look across at the Manhattan skyline.
Besides Mr. Fasulo, she is survived by a daughter, Elena Fasulo, and grandchildren Patrice Cartier Roe, Vincent Cartier, Gregg Cartier, and Edward Fasulo. Also by great-grandchildren Tricia Ann Roe, Nathaniel Roe, Arianna Fasulo and Alexa Fasulo, and by her friend and longtime assistant Ayisha Ouedraogo.
Funeral Mass was held Monday in Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen’s R.C. Church.
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