Rosella L. Carden 1930-2021

Born to Rose and Celso Tassile in Youngstown, Ro was raised in a proud Italian-American household where she learned the importance of family and the art of good cooking. While at school she was an honor student involved in many activities, but her favorite ones involved working with children.

In 1952, Ro married her high school sweetheart, James F. Carden, better known as “Jim,” and they enjoyed 65 years of marriage before Jim passed away in 2018. Jim was an Air Force pilot, so Ro soon adjusted to the chaotic life of being a military officer’s wife, eventually raising two daughters, Cathy and Jamie, on a military base in Delaware.

Ro and Jim finally settled in New Jersey, and by 1961, had moved to Westfield, where they had their third child, Jimmer. Ro devoted her life to her husband and children. She was always proud of her ability to raise a family and successfully run a household while Jim, an airline pilot, often spent days away from home flying. Ro was also an exceptionally good cook and, she would humbly add, “one heck of a sandwich maker.” Ro had many interests, from calligraphy writing and traveling to gardening and history, and was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction throughout her life. She loved dogs, from the dogs of her youth, Mac and Starfire, to her Westfield dogs, Puffer, Fergus, Gumby and Jennie.

Over the past 50 years, Ro was involved in many activities. She volunteered at the Westfield Community Center, the Children’s Specialized Hospital, taught Vacation Bible School, was a docent at the Miller-Cory House Museum and was a member of the Rake and Hoe Garden club. Ro’s main passion was being a mother and raising her three children, but she also loved being a surrogate mom to the many children who grew up on and near Belvidere Avenue. Always a kid at heart, she loved playing games like “Red Light, Green Light,” “Mother May I” and “Red Rover” with the neighborhood kids. Ro’s love was boundless and she shared it with every child she encountered and the neighborhood children became part of her family. When her own grandchildren came along, she delighted in playing with and caring for them and was a loving and vital part of their lives.

Ro was predeceased by her loving husband, Jim; her parents, Celso and Rose Tassile; her twin brother, Celso Junior; her sisters, Theresa, Mary and Mafalda; and her son-in-law, Phil Leventhal.

Ro is survived by her loving and grateful children, Cathy (Rob) Shaffer, Jamie Carden-Leventhal and Jimmer (Lisa) Carden; her four grandchildren, P.J. and Lydia Leventhal and Miles and Aidan Carden; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Although Ro lived most of her adult life outside of Ohio, to the end she referred to Youngstown as home and that is where she will be laid to rest, next to her beloved Jim, in the Old Home Cemetery on McCollum Road. Her burial and a small memorial gathering for family and friends will be held at a later date, this year. Details to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations, in memory of Ro Carden, can be made to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, www.sthuberts.org/donate or by phone at 973-377-2295.

(special notice)