Mary Ann Romeo

Our beloved mother, Mary Ann Romeo, died peacefully on October 5, 2025, at the age of 87. She brought warmth, gentleness, and joy into every corner of our lives.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in March of 1938, to John and Rose Vaccaro, she was soon joined by her brother, Anthony Vaccaro, who predeceased her in 2020, to whom she remained deeply devoted throughout her life.

Mary Ann made her home in Long Island and Brooklyn with her cherished husband of 60 years, Stephen Romeo, who predeceased her in 2018. 

Mary Ann was raised in a time and place that doesn’t exist anymore. The Italian Brooklyn she grew up in was centered on large family gatherings, commanded by immigrant grandparents and the strict rules placed on its young women. Expected to get married and have children, Mary Ann once called herself an old maid when she was 18. But by 20, she was married, a new mother, and thrived in her new roles.

Music was very important to Mary Ann. As a young child, her mom turned on the radio that played country music. In her teens, she went to church dances and did the Lindy. She attended the old Met with her Sicilian-born grandmother, falling in love with Verdi’s La Traviata. As a young wife, she enjoyed ironing to the smooth vocal stylings of Johnny Mathis. In the seventies, you could find her at a disco. (Dad stayed home.) There would be future opera performances and even attendance at the New York Philharmonic.

She was open-minded—never critical—kind, and eternally curious. One of her outstanding traits was her vibrancy, which drew so many people to her. And her smile—radiant and genuine—held its own kind of magic, a language of light that illuminated her spirit.

She was the proud mother of four children: Stephanie Romeo, Diane Romeo Spindler, Richard Romeo (partner, Kate Moss), and Michael Romeo. She was also a devoted grandmother to Michael Spindler (wife, Lianne Spindler) and a beloved aunt to many nieces and nephews.

Her star will continue to shine, forever bright. She will be missed beyond words by all who loved her, especially her children.

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”