Her life was short by today’s standards, having died in 1984 at the age of 43 from a rare type of cancer most likely brought on by her genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis. Because I was 17 when she died, there were only rare moments when I remember having adult-level conversations with her about any subject at all, never mind her childhood experiences or family history. I am sure I asked questions, but at that young age, I was incapable of truly understanding the scope of her story to the whatever extent she told me about it. As a “typical” self-absorbed teenager, I lacked perspective to appreciate and empathize with her life’s twists and turns other than what I observed of it through my own eyes.
I don’t recall exactly when Rosemary told us kids (I have three siblings) that she was adopted, but it must have been in the 1970s when I was 8 or 9. I also don’t recall how she told us who her adoptive parents were, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know. Her adopted father was none other than the infamous New York mobster Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, and her adopted mother was Bernice Karwowski Salerno, Fat Tony’s first wife. I mention this not to sensationalize the story, but because I believe it drove several important turning points in how my life’s events unfolded early on.
Fate and Family 