Elena Ann Torregrossa passed away peacefully Nov. 14, 2023, at her home in Middletown at the age of 86. Her family and friends celebrated her extraordinary life that left all those she touched better for simply having known her.
Elena was born in the Bronx, New York, to parents Helen and Arthur DeMatteo, but, after losing her mother sadly at the age of 2, she was raised and adored by her aunt (and mother in every sense), Antoinette DeLuca and her “Papa” Anthony De Luca. Although an only child, Elena grew up surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins, and learned the importance of family from a young age. A gifted child, she quickly excelled in all she did, with an innate goodness and magnetic pull that drew people to her throughout her life.
She enjoyed lifelong friendships and her oldest and dearest friend of 75 years, Michele Meany, described her as a “natural born leader” who graduated Mt. Saint Ursula High School as valedictorian, student council president and everyone’s friend before heading off to Hunter College in New York City to pursue what would be a storied career as an educator and administrator.
While rising to the top of her class at Hunter College, the bubbly girl from the Bronx met a brooding, brilliant engineering student from Brooklyn and the rest was history. Elena fell in love and married Robert Torregrossa in 1960 and began to juggle career and family, starting with teaching kindergarten in the Bronx while welcoming daughters Suzanne and Ellen.
The young family left the city for the uncharted suburbs of Middletown in 1967 where Elena flourished as she had all of her life, finding her second home at St. Leo the Great School and Parish. She worked at St. Leo’s for 35 years, first as a teacher and, after obtaining her master’s and furthering her doctoral studies at Rutgers, as principal for two decades until her retirement in 2006. She transformed the school into a flagship institution, earning its first blue ribbon status on her watch.
Her greatest pride came in knowing that she taught not just her daughters, but her grandsons during her time at St. Leo’s.
With her signature vision, faith, dedication, and love for others, she left an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of those she taught, always reinforcing the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Despite all her professional accomplishments, however, her greatest joy was her family. She cared for her husband Robert in later years with a matchless devotion that was a marvel to behold. She loved her daughters and sons-in-law deeply and beamed whenever she spoke of her six grandsons, the true loves of her life.
Elena was predeceased by her parents, her husband Robert, and her son-in-law James Berger. She is survived by her daughter Suzanne Berger Tortorici and son-in-law Jim Tortorici of Tinton Falls and her daughter Ellen Torregrossa-O’Connor and son-in-law John O’Connor of Middletown. She is also survived by her grandsons, Nicholas Berger, Alex Berger, Matthew O’Connor, Michael O’Connor, Christian Berger and Benjamin Tortorici.
Visitation was Nov. 17 the John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 18 at St. Leo the Great Church in Lincroft. Entombment followed at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a cause that has meaning to the family. Donations can be mailed to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 222 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, N.Y. 10605 or online at give.cff.org/greater-newyork.
Please visit Elena’s memorial website at johnedayfuneralhome.com.
This article originally appeared in the November 23 – 29, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
