Obituary of Rosemary E. Sterbentz

Rosemary E. Sterbentz of Vestal, NY went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 after a short illness. She was predeceased by her devoted husband of 49 years, John G. Sterbentz, her parents William and Rose Kennedy (Quinn), her brothers Reed Kennedy, Charles Kennedy, William Kennedy and John Kennedy, and her sisters Florence Kennedy, Isabel Kennedy and Angela Kennedy. She is survived by her son John J. Sterbentz of Vestal, NY, and daughters Monica (Christopher) Parker of Albany, NY, and Andrea (Thomas) Witteman of Binghamton, NY, and by her grandchildren Terence Parker, Olivia Parker, Jake Witteman, and Jeanna Witteman, and numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grandnephews; great grandnieces and great grandnephews. Rosemary graduated from Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn, NY and St. John's Long Island City Hospital School of Nursing, and worked as a Registered Nurse in the years before she married and raised a family. Her last employment was a part-time position at Your Home Library in Johnson City, where she worked until she was 82. She enjoyed walking, listening to the radio, doing crossword puzzles, and strolling about the stores looking for a good bargain. She loved little children, and always had a smile and a kind word for them wherever she met them. Most of all, she loved spending time with and caring for her family, and she dearly loved her late husband, children and grandchildren. We will miss her wise counsel and endless love for us. As a devout Roman Catholic, her faith was very important to her and a source of strength throughout her life. Rosemary was a petite woman, but one who possessed a tremendous amount of physical and emotional strength. In the later years of her life she suffered several life-threatening illnesses, but she amazed her family, her medical caregivers, and others around her with her ability to heal, recover, and go back to her normal active life. Rosemary's family would like to thank Dr. Readling and Dr. Bellina, and the nurses and staff at Broome Oncology, as well as Dr. Downey of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Kim of Tier Orthopedics, Dr. Ihsan Khan and Dr. Mikloucich for all their help in enabling her to remain active and healthy until the end of her life. We'd also like to thank Charlene Baran and Kate Murphy for helping her to remain independent in her own home, and Deacon Thomas Picciano for his spiritual support. A Funeral Mass will be offered at St. Vincent de Paul Blessed Sacrament Church, Clubhouse Road, Vestal, Monday, April 2, 2018 at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City. The family will receive friends at the J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home, 141 Main Street, Binghamton, SATURDAY, March 31, 2018 from 1 to 4 p.m. Expressions of sympathy in Rosemary's memory may be made to the Solanus Casey Center, 1780 Mt. Elliot Street, Detroit, Michigan 48207 (www.solanuscenter.org).