Obituary of Cecilia Theresa Ruggieri

Cecilia Theresa Ruggieri, 97, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in New York City. Born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania to the late Felix and Sophia Stefanski, she was the last surviving sibling of 8. She received a B.S degree in nursing at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Nursing in 1946, while receiving the prestigious Nightingale Award for excellence in nursing. At Penn she met and married her late husband of 65 years, Pasquale Arthur Ruggieri M.D., and moved to and lived in Vineland until 2015 as a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother before she moved to New York. She is survived by two children, Alexander Paschal Ruggieri MD, of Los Angeles CA, and Andrea Frances Tomasetti of New York, NY, a granddaughter, Alexandra Danielle Ruggieri of Brooklyn, NY, and a son-in-law, Richard Tomasetti. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, she assisted her husband in his internal medicine practice in Vineland, and was a devoted parishioner of Sacred Heart parish, volunteering to support the clergy and Sisters of Saint Joseph. She also volunteered for the American Red Cross. She loved the symphony and theater, and often would bring the serving Sisters at Sacred Heart convent to matinee performances in Philadelphia.

In lieu of flowers, donations and remembrances in Cecilia’s honor can be made to the American Red Cross www.redcross.org/donate online, by phone 800-435-7669, or by mail at American Red Cross, PO Box 37839, Boone IA 50037-0839