Vivian Maria Roach

Vivian, beloved mother, sister, aunt, cousin and loving friend to many was born in Columbus Hospital, Manhattan, New York. She was the first child of Joseph Sala and Josephine Bilello. She lived in Brooklyn until 1948 when her family moved to the Bronx.
After high school, she earned a degree in Education from Queens College and accepted a teaching position in Deer Park, Long Island. While in Long Island, she lived with Uncle John and Aunt Frances Bilello and dear cousins Rose Frances and Janet.
In New York, her family lived in row houses that afforded close daily contact with grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and extended family living. In 1957, Vivian and her family joined other family members in migrating west to California. Vivian’s mother and father purchased a home in La Mirada, California. After years of living in row housing in Brooklyn, they emulated that concept by having the homes on either side of them purchased by Vivian’s Uncle Charlie and Aunt Angie. Shortly thereafter, Vivian was hired as a teacher while Vivian’s younger brother, Will, lived at home and studied Electronic Engineering at Cal Poly University, Pomona.
Vivian’s friend, Janice Roach, introduced her cousin James to Vivian. Jim was a Green Beret on leave during the Vietnam War. They married in 1967 and raised three children, Brian, Eric and Christina.
Vivian taught first grade at St. Linus Elementary in Norwalk, CA followed by Kindergarten at Magee Elementary in Pico Rivera, CA. She made lifelong friends at both schools and remained close even after retirement in 1998.
Shortly after Vivian retired, Jim passed away after battling cancer. Vivian started a widow’s group through her church and became close friends with a few women in that group. She was active in her church and served on various committees.
Vivian was a vibrant woman who treasured family and enjoyed her nine grandchildren -Kyle, Sydney, Madison, Ava, David, Natalie, Evelyn, Anna and Aaron. When they were toddlers, she loved reading to them and it was a rite of passage for Grandma to show them Curious George on the VCR. As her grandkids grew, she loved sitting down with them and learning about their lives.
She always had the news on and was up to speed on world events. But her first love was the Dodgers. She grew up watching the Brooklyn Dodgers and later, the Los Angeles Dodgers. She never missed a game and made sure to watch it on TV or listen to them on the radio. She bled Dodger Blue.
Vivian was not your typical senior citizen. She loved pop culture and was an avid viewer of Big Brother, The Kardashians and The Bachelor. She especially loved to recap The Bachelor with her friends the next day, to the horror of her kids.
Vivian spent her retirement years going to lunch with her friends and looked forward to enjoying meals together. She became active in Bunco over the past few years and added that to her twice weekly bowling leagues. It wasn’t unusual for her to tell her family when she had scored impressively earlier that day.
Vivian cherished her family and friends and loved life. She never wanted to miss a thing. When she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in August, that love of life is what made her fight as hard as she did. She tried treatment after treatment to buy her more time to spend with family and friends. When it became apparent that her time was running out, she just wanted to make it to the December Cousin’s Party. She did just that and had such a great time. She took picture after picture in the photo booth and was one of the last people to leave. She didn’t want the party to end and her family made sure to let her know what a special lady she was.
One of Vivian’s many insightful statements after having accepted her terminal condition was, “I won’t even know who will be elected President!” And we will all remember, “ANYWAY!” - the phrase she became famous for when she didn’t want to discuss a particular topic.
When it was Vivian’s time to go, her children were at her bedside until she peacefully took her final breath. We are all comforted by the thought of Vivian’s eternal life in heaven.
We will miss you, Viv. But, we know that we will see you again.