Susan Anne Rooney

Susan Anne (Gallo) Rooney passed away peacefully at home on November 7, 2025. She was deeply loved and will be forever missed by her husband of 52 years, Patrick, and her children, Mary (Scott) Thorp, Michael, and Megan. She was a devoted grandmother to Adam and John, and a beloved aunt to Nying-Jepo (Dylan) Gallo-Enos, Uwodu Gallo, and Blake (Abigail) Demers Gallo. Susan is also survived by many cousins, nieces, and nephews across the United States, Ireland, Italy, and Australia.
Born on June 29, 1948, in Pearl River, New York, Susan moved with her family to Lawrence, New Jersey, at a young age. A 1966 graduate of Notre Dame High School, she went on to attend St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and later earned advanced degrees in education from Trenton State College and Rutgers University.
Susan dedicated more than 50 years to education, teaching at Lawrenceville Elementary School for 40 years and at ECV Lawrenceville for 10 years. Teaching was her greatest passion. She developed curriculum guides, directed school plays, and inspired generations of students to find success both in and beyond the classroom.
Outside of teaching, Susan was an avid traveler and passionate gardener, known for her lush vegetable gardens and towering 16-foot sunflowers. Throughout her life, she explored the world with enthusiasm-visiting her husband's homeland of Ireland more than twenty times and traveling to her own ancestral roots in Italy on four memorable occasions. She cherished her book club, delighted in lively Scrabble games, and loved welcoming family and friends with generous Italian dinners, always accompanied by the sound of Italian opera filling the home.
Susan's warmth, generosity, and bright spirit will be remembered by all who knew her.
A Memorial Gathering will be held on December 7, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with a Celebration of Life and Words of Remembrance to begin at 12:00 p.m., at the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ.
A Mass of Celebration will also be held at St. Malachy's Church in Castlewellan, Northern Ireland, where she and Patrick were married in 1973.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Every Child Valued, P.O. Box 6693, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, or via their website at www.everychildvalued.org/ecv.