Obituary of Rita Ingrassia

Rita lived a charmed life, always surrounded by a loving family. She deeply loved her family, including her 4 children and their spouses, 14 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and her nieces and nephews. She is known far and wide as Grandma Rita not just by her close family, but by friends and neighbors locally in the Oyster Bay, Glen Cove, Brookville and Lattingtown communities, and in Ringoes, Hopewell and Mountainside New Jersey. She is everyone's Grandma Rita.

 Everyone fortunate enough to cross her path, even briefly, was blessed by the encounter. She was brilliant, beautiful, wise and funny.  She was Valedictorian of her high school class—an incredible achievement for a child whose brilliant, illiterate mother emigrated to the United States from Italy at the age of six.

Countless among us have been the beneficiary of a quick piece of crucial  advice, a support when we were down or at a crossroads, a laugh when we needed it and a shared cry as well. 

And always, always, a good meal. Rita was an incredible cook and passed her knowledge not only to her children and their spouses, but also to all of the grandchildren. The grandchildren all cut their teeth on "Grandma Rita Ronis" and her omnipresent crumb cake. Her recipes are the stuff of chefs award shows. Which person lucky enough to be in her orbit hasn't had one of her delicious meals?

She was a great entertainer with her rich wealth of a lifetime of stories. Please ask any family member about the purple convertible and concubines. Or when Frank Sinatra played all night at MSG and asked who was Rita in the crowd or when as an usherette at the movie theater she dressed up as Cinderella and handed out Hershey kisses. She had an easy laugh that made all feel at home.

Grandma Rita is also the torchbearer of the family card game Shanghai passed down through the generations. Every family member is patiently taught this game from a very young age and there isn't a family and friends gathering where Shanghai tournaments aren't played for hours on end. Competition for the podium is always fierce. More often than not, Grandma Rita was the champion. 

After marriage, she brought up her four children until they were of age and then began a long career in administrative positions first at Brinkmann Instruments in Westbury and then at Dunhill Employment Systems in Plainview and Woodbury.

She loved to travel by car with her companion of over 20 years and visited all 50 states and most of the Canadian provinces. She was an avid coin collector.

She will be dearly missed.

Beloved mother of Frank Ingrassia (Elizabeth McCaul), Joann Halder (the late Steven Halder), Barbara Pauley (Christopher), William Ingrassia (Deborah). Cherished grandmother of Carole M. Bates (Dr. Andrew T.), Peter Francis Ingrassia (Rochelle), Jenna Halder, Katherine Powanda (Jonathan), Kristen Merchant (Devin), Maxwell Ingrassia, Jake Ingrassia, Gregory Pauley, Alexander Ingrassia, Timothy Patrick Ingrassia, Theodore William Ingrassia, Owen Quincy Ingrassia, Benjamin Ingrassia, and Elizabeth Nell Ingrassia. Proud great grandmother of Liam Bates, Henry Bates, Anna Bates, Sullivan Powanda, Mila Merchant, Poppy Merchant, Edie Merchant, and Aurora Eden Ingrassia. Dear sister of the late William Schiavone (Rose), James Schiavone (Sara), Anna Agresti (John), Marie Bojsa (Gus and Irving) and Catherine Peters (Paul). Companion of the late Hank Poppe and former spouse of the late Salvatore Ingrassia. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. Visiting Oyster Bay Funeral Home, 261 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, Friday 4-7 p.m. Funeral Mass St. Dominic RC Chapel Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Interment private. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to support the Northwell Aging Institute in honor of Rita Ingrassia and with deep gratitude to Dr Maria Torroella Carney or to The Life Enrichment Center of Oyster Bay. In honor of Rita Ingrassia with deep gratitude to Bridget DeSimone.