Obituary of Donato N. DeRosa

Donato N. DeRosa, 82, passed away on December 29, 2020. He is predeceased by his wife, Janet (Dobbins) DeRosa; siblings: Madeline (Peter) Pacilio, Frank (Yolanda) DeRosa, Vincentia (Billy) Rizzi, Margaret (Victor) Mauro, Helen (Santo) Catalfamo, Ida (Alfred) Guerriri, and Rose (Vincent) Lenzi; best bud, Rocco (Poppy) Mayo. He is survived by his children: Susan (Sidney) Brandon, Karen (Stephen) Taft, and Julie DeRosa; grandchildren: David Taft, Jordan Taft, Spencer Taft, Julia Brandon, Janie Brandon, and Nick Brandon; sister, Josephine Joseph; many nieces and nephews and countless friends. Dan is a true “Canandaigua Icon.” He was born in Canandaigua to Italian immigrants in 1938, attended St. Mary’s School, graduated from Canandaigua Academy, and married his high school sweetheart, Janet Dobbins at St. Mary's Church. They had 50 beautiful years together. Dan’s passions were family, faith, friends, community, fishing, golfing, and the NY Yankees. He lived by his motto “family first” and always placed his family at the center of his life. He looked forward to attending his grandchildren’s events and taking the family on vacations creating memories filled with love and laughter. He was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He volunteered at St. Mary’s, Light Hill, CMAC, Patty’s Place, and most recently, coordinating and delivering meals for Canandaigua Cares to our local heroes during this pandemic. He enjoyed fishing and golfing with friends, and making his morning coffee rounds to stay caught up on the latest and greatest of what was happening in Canandaigua. Dan spent most of his evening hours in his favorite recliner cheering on the New York Yankees. He had a love/hate relationship with them (trying to figure out who, other than himself, would be a better Manager) as well as with his vegetable garden (trying to figure out which animal was eating which plant). If nothing else, both topics made for some great conversations/debates. Dan will be greatly missed, and he will have a lasting place in our hearts. An 11:00 A.M. funeral Mass will be held Monday, January 4, at St. Mary's Church, 95 N. Main St., Canandaigua. Interment will be private. Masks and social distancing guidelines will be followed. A link to view the recorded service can be found below. Please copy and paste the link into your browser to view the Mass. A celebration of life in which all can attend will be planned for a future date. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Dan’s memory may be made to: St. Mary’s Church, 95 N. Main St Canandaigua, NY 14424; Light Hill, 5160 Parrish Street Ext. Canandaigua, NY 14424; https://lighthillhome.org/?page_id=103; Lakeland Boys and Girls Clubs, 1525 Martin L. King Jr. Ave., PO Box 763, Lakeland Florida, 33802 PLEASE COPY AND PASTE LINKS INTO YOUR WEB BROWERS TO VIEW: Part 1: https://youtu.be/S5Qut6rqBGs Part 2: https://youtu.be/VJ47rYpq7IM