Marie Louise Perrotta, 80, of Eastchester, New York passed away on September 11, 2023 after a six year struggle with dementia. Born in the Bronx on May 29, 1943 to Anthony and Alberica Perrotta, she attended Santa Maria Elementary School and her beloved Preston High School from which years later she was honored with the Distinguished Alumna Award.  She attended Good Counsel College in White Plains graduating with a BA degree in English and earned her MA in English Education at Hunter College in Manhattan.

Marie was a respected member of the educational community in Westchester County, NY from 1965 until her retirement from the Harrison Central School District in 2007.  Her teaching career began at the School of the Holy Child in Rye, NY.  During her stellar fourteen year career there, Marie also served as English Department Chair and Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction.  In 1980, Marie changed careers and became an editor at Prentice Hall in Englewod Cliffs, NJ.  However, four years later, she returned to the educational scene in Westchester serving as an English Administrator, Supervisor and Assistant Principal in Greenburgh Central School District 7, Briarcliff Middle-High School, Westlake Middle School, the City School District of New Rochelle and the Harrison Central School District.

A published author, Marie wrote curriculum guides for The Center for Learning and the CBS Television Reading Program.  She shared her expertise in English Language Arts bypresenting workshops for the NYSEC (NYS English Council) and the Westchester Council of English Educators.  In fact, she was honored to serve as president of the latter organization from 1987-1996.  Marie was also active in the Westchester Holocaust Education Center.  In her community, she was one of first volunteers for the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in Tuckahoe. She also served on the Board of Trustees for Preston High School and the Eastchester Public Library and the Board of Directors for Interlaken Gardens in Eastchester.

Marie was an avid reader, always suggesting books for her family and many friends.  She loved the theatre and enjoyed going to Broadway and Lincoln Center to see live drama.  A good cook, she often hosted luncheons and dinners.  Going to “High Tea” and playing bridge were two of her other favoriteactivities. Most importantly, Marie loved to travel…and travel the world she did.  Proud of her Italian heritage, she visited Italy many times touring from the north in Venice to the south in Sicily. She was adventurous and went to Kenya and Tanzania on an African safari and visited Cuba, China, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Provence, the Caribbean, Canada, Alaska, Arizonaand Hawaii.   Also on Marie’s itinerary was “river cruising,” and so she sailed on the Great Rivers of Europe, the Seine from Paris to the Cote d’Azur, Eastern Europe to the Black Sea, and the Aegean to Greece and Turkey. And every year, she enjoyed the company of her family and friends at her cousins’ ocean front home at the Jersey Shore in Sea Isle.

Marie believed that “Life is not a dress rehearsal” and so she enjoyed spending time with her friends and relatives and experiencing new and different activities.  She was a devoted daughter and with her sister, Brenda, cared for their mother after she had suffered a stroke.  Marie shared her enthusiasm for NYC with her goddaughter, Angelica, and transformed into “Auntie Mame” when her great nephew, Luca, and her great niece,Elena, were born.

Marie is survived by her sister, Brenda Morra, and her brother-in-law, Joe, and her cousins, Joe Dinardo, Phyllis Terilli, Frank Spicciati, Barbara DiCarlucci, Laura Ross, Mary Perrotta and Anthony Perrotto.

A celebration of Marie’s life will take place at the Pelham Funeral Home, 64 Lincoln Avenue, Pelham, NY 10803 on Thursday, September 14 from 4-8 PM.  In lieu of flowers, Marie’s family requests that donations be made in Marie’s name to Willow Towers, Phoenix Program, 355 Pelham Road, New Rochelle, New York 10805.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 575 Fowler Avenue, Pelham Manor, NY 10803 at 10 AM on Friday, September 15.  Cremation and Internment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne NY will follow on Thursday, September 21 at 10:30 AM.

Editor’s note: This obituary was provided by the Pelham Funeral Home.