Sally Ayer Rossetti

Sally Ayer Rossetti, 92, passed away on June 21, 2024, in Hartford, CT. Born on January 2, 1932, in Bedford, NH to the late Demerritt and Esther (Nordstrom) Ayer, Sally spent her lifetime nurturing the minds and hearts of many, most notably through her over-25-year tenure as a kindergarten teacher in the Rocky Hill school system. Her dedication to education was profound, as Sally was often remembered for her incredible ability to recall the names of countless former students with whom she joyously reconnected in later years via Facebook.
When she turned 90, she received over 100 cards, many of them from her former students. Sally was adventurous; she would get in her car and drive. She never met a lobster roll she did not love (always cold!). Sally had friends far and wide. She loved a good book but also loved a good sitcom. Sally always hated to admit it, but she loved the sitcom Two and a Half Men (as she thought it was a little racy). She loved the ocean and in her retirement was lucky to have lived almost 27 years on her beloved Cape Cod. She also spent a month every year in Bermuda - which she equally loved. Then, there were the years she spent the month of August at Small Point in Maine, where she got the name Sunset Sal. Sally loved to bird watch and was a fantastic gardener. Even when her physical limitations started to affect her, she found a way to make some smaller, closer beds! She, indeed, was a warrior.
Sally was a longtime member of Memorial Baptist Church in Hartford and later at First Congregational Church at the Cape in Harwich, MA, reflecting her commitment to her faith and community. She was immensely proud to tell how she was a member of the Justice and Peace committee at the church.
She was predeceased by her husband Patrick Rossetti, Sr., and her fiancé Jim Nolan. Sally's memory is treasured by her son, Patrick Rossetti, Jr.; daughter Marilyn Rossetti and her husband, Greg Rose; her bonus daughter, Jennifer Nolan Asadow and her husband, Howard, and her beloved grandsons Nolan and James Asadow. She also leaves her brother Jack Ayer and his wife Maryanne Bertram, her niece Katy Ayer and her husband Steve Beadle, and nephew David Ayer and his wife Elise Huneke-Stone.
There will be a service on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford CT. Calling hours are Tuesday July 2, 2024, from 4-6 p.m. at Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Open Hearth, 150 Charter Oak Ave., Hartford, CT 06106-5102. Sally's legacy of love, education, and adventure will forever be remembered by those fortunate enough to know her. Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com