Rose Marie Skerpac

Rose Marie Skerpac, teacher and actress, died on December 26, 2020, at Tranquility Hospice in Marietta, Georgia. Born in November 1923 on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, NY into an Italian-American family with six siblings, she was adopted at a young age and raised in Passaic, NJ by her aunt and uncle, Rose and Pasquale Cardone. Rose married her beloved husband, John Skerpac, in 1942, graduated from Upsala College in 1948, and attended Columbia University to work on graduate studies. Rose was employed at Theater Arts magazine in NYC, later moved to Succasunna, New Jersey where she and her husband raised four children and where Rose was a popular middle school teacher of English and Spanish. Ever the change-maker in her community, Rose was active in the Women's Club, American Field Service activities as well as helping drive the building of one of the first local Kidney Dialysis centers in the state of New Jersey. After the death of her husband in 1975, Rose began traveling and settled in Barcelona, Spain where she lived for more than 30 years. Life in Barcelona initially centered on teaching English at the North American Institute, after which she started a second career in acting that included many television advertisements, a music video with a pop singer that made it to the top of the charts that summer, as well as a major role in the Spanish film, Fuga de Cerebros 2, in 2011. A true Renaissance woman, Rose was a passionate lover of the arts, music, animals and her friends from all cultures, ages and locations across the globe. Rose is survived by her children Leandra Skerpac Hall and husband Gary Hall, Craig Skerpac, Valene Skerpac, Melisande Skerpac; grandchildren Alexandra Sindorf and husband Lloyd Sindorf, Nicholas Manes, Anastasia Manes; great grandchildren Emory Sindorf and Oliver Sindorf; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Celebrations of Rose's life will take place at a future date, to be announced, when it is safe to gather together. In lieu of flowers, Rose's family asks that donations be made to animal-saving organizations - the ASPCA, the Humane Society and PETA.