OHIO—Mary Rose Czajka Romeo, PhD, 54, of Dayton, Ohio, died Monday, October 4, 2010 after a long battle with breast cancer.
She was the daughter of the late Carmela (Mangiafico) and John Czajka.
She grew up on the family farm in Elizaville and was a 1972 graduate of Germantown Central School.
After graduating from Germantown, Mrs. Romeo attended Adephi University, majoring in ballet. She later transferred to Russell Sage College in Troy, where she earned a BS in biology in 1976. She was awarded a PhD in anatomy from Albany Medical College in 1981.
Mrs. Romeo will be remembered by her legions of friends as a strong, incredibly bright woman of diverse abilities and interests, who faced all manner of adversity with a smile and a serenity born of the knowledge that love, in the end, is what matters. She will be deeply missed.
She married David Romeo in 1979, and moved to Dayton, where her husband served as a physician in the U.S. Air Force and is currently in private practice.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by three children, Katherine, Cristina and Stephen; four siblings, Frances Czajka, Mimi Czajka Graminski, Paul Czajka and John Czajka. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and an aunt.
A Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 9 at St. Leonard Community Chapel, 81 Clyo Road, Centerville, Ohio.
Calling hours are from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, October 8 at Westbrock Funeral Home, 5980 Bigger Road, Kettering, Ohio, (937) 253-6161.
Memorial donations are requested to Partners in Health (PIH.org) and Heaven’s Corner Zoo, 385 Quinn Road, West Alexandria, Ohio 45
