Rose A. Gagnon, of Somers, NY, died peacefully on July 31, 2026, at the age of 93.
Born in 1932, in the Bronx, Rose was the daughter of Anna and Theodore Raguso and grew up alongside her four siblings, Marie, Frank, Matt, and Josephine. She graduated from New York University in 1955 with a BA in Sociology and remained in the Bronx until she met Paul Gagnon in 1958. They married the following year and went on to build a life and a family that would be the center of her world.
Rose turned her education into a lifelong calling. As a caseworker with the Child Protective Agency and later the Office for the Aging, she spent her career looking after people at their most vulnerable, the very young and the very old, with the same patience and warmth she brought to everyone she met.
Her greatest joy, though, was her family. Rose loved to host: holiday gatherings at her table, an occasion to dress up, and always classic Italian food in generous quantity. She fed people because she wanted them to feel cared for, and they did. Her loving nature, her generosity, her thoughtfulness, and her wonderful sense of care touched everyone who knew her. She will be remembered for her deep faith, her devotion to her family, and her dedication to helping others.
Rose is survived by her beloved husband of 67 years, Paul Gagnon; her children, Joe, Beth, and Ted; her six grandchildren, Julianne, Kimberly, Paul, Katherine, Olivia, and Matteo; and her great-grandchild, Finn.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday, August 4 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Clark & Giordano Funeral Home, 2104 Saw Mill River Rd., Yorktown Heights. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, August 5 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church in Somers. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.
