Rosinha "Rosy" Pereira

Rosinha “Rosy” Pereira, 71, of Mechanicsburg, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at her home.

She was born May 11, 1952, in Goa, India to the late Milagres and Maria Cacilda (DaCosta) Dias. Rosy was the widow of Raymond Pereira who passed in 1993.

Rosy had very humble beginnings in Corjem, Curtorim, Salcette - Goa, India where she was the second amongst nine siblings. She was an integral part of the family and helped her older sister care for all their younger brothers, some of whom were 10-20 years younger than her. Strong-headed and steadfast, she finished her high school education and was the first of the family to leave the state to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. She graduated in 1973 and won the mayor’s award as well as the best student of the year.

Rosy met the love of her life, Raymond Pereira, in Mumbai. They got married in 1975 and had their only child, Ramona Pereira-Chakka in 1977, after an unfortunate miscarriage. Despite being widowed while she was only 41 years, she stayed strong for 16-year-old Ramona and gave her the best upbringing despite her meagre means. She was a driving force as the matron (lead nurse) running the Matalachmi Hospital in Mumbai, India for thirty plus years. Patients, families, doctors, and nurses revered her and to them she was “Mumbai’s Florence Nightingale,” always going out of her way to serve the sick and needy including going to people homes to dress wounds if they could not afford to come to the hospital. She was also an amazing aunt and in-law to her sibling’s significant others, Raymond’s siblings/ significant others, nieces and nephews and cared for Raymond’s elderly Dad till he passed away in 1998.

When Ramona decided to go to the United States to pursue her MBA in 2004, Rosy decided to follow her only child even though it necessitated her to retake exams to redo her Registered Nurse credentials at the age of 53 years. She got her CGFNS certification and immigrated to the US in 2005 taking on a job in Gladeview Nursing Home in Old Saybrook, CT. Rosy first arrived in Michigan to attend Ramona‘s graduation from Michigan State University in 2006. This began a beautiful new chapter for Rosy as she moved with Ramona and her family into their new home in Novi. During these years, she took pride in creating a lovely garden with all her favorite flowers from tulips to roses and a statue of Mother Mary. She worked at a nearby nursing home, continuing her passion of caring for the elderly. She was a loving grandma to Jaya who enjoyed spending time with her during her summer and holiday visits.

Life threw Rosy another curveball in 2009 with an early onset of Parkinson disease diagnosis, just 3 years short of her 60th birthday. Despite this being an unfair fate in her retirement years given the hard, selfless life she had led, she accepted this as her cross that God wanted her to bear and turned her focus to welcoming her new grandbabies, Divya, and Raj, into the world. Her world revolved around them, and she was their “Nanu,” who cared for them day in and day out and introduced them to her beautiful Goa, where they spend delightful vacations with her and her family. She was loved and adored by the large extended Michigan ‘family’ that had the privilege of getting to know her during countless celebrations each weekend together for birthdays, weddings, baptisms, Diwali, etc.

Rosy moved with Ramona and her family to Pennsylvania in 2015. Despite limited mobility due to Parkinson’s disease progression, she made a comfortable home for toddlers Divya and Raj, getting them ready for their elementary school years. One of her proudest moments was when Ramona made Principal in a leading consulting firm in 2019. She loved moving to her new home in 2021, aptly named “Villa Rosinha Cacilda” in her honor. She enjoyed spending time in her beautiful courtyard that reminded her of her home back in Goa.

“It’s hard to turn the page when you know someone won’t be in the next chapter, but the story must go on.” – Thomas Wilder. Everyone that knew and loved Rosy feels this way. As much as she is missed, she would want us to continue her story and be remembered for her good nature, generosity, kindness, commitment to God, and a warm hug to greet everyone that walked through her door.

Rosy is survived by her loving daughter, Ramona Pereira-Chakka of Mechanicsburg; three grandchildren, Jaya, Divya, and Raj Chakka all of Mechanicsburg; six siblings, Amelia Santos Costa Pereira, Carmo (wife Iris) Dias, Aleixo (wife Lucy) Dias, Francisco (wife Sarojini) Dias, Irineu (wife Sushila) Dias, and Angelo (wife Zelia) Dias all of Goa, India; one sister-in-law, Miquelina Dias; and many, many nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Francisco and Sebastiao Dias; and one brother-in-law, Filomeno Santos Costa Pereira.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 13, 2023, at the Hoffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 2020 West Trindle Road Carlisle, PA 17013 with Rev. Kenneth C. Roth officiating. A viewing will be held from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service on Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be private and held at the convenience of the family.

The family is requesting everyone in lieu of flowers to please consider making donations to the following organizations that support elderly folks like Rosy to spend their final years aging gracefully in their homes / communities and in protecting and advancing their health care rights. 

Cumberland County Council on Older Adults https://www.cumberlandcountypa.gov/aging or Pennsylvania Health Law Project https://www.phlp.org/en/donate.

To sign the guestbook, please visit www.hoffmanfh.com.