Obituary of Rose Marie (Santagate) Barnes

Rose Marie (Santagate) Barnes, 83 PEABODY – Rose M. (Santagate) Barnes, 83, of Las Vegas and formerly of Peabody, beloved wife of John E. “Jack” Barnes, died peacefully at her home in Las Vegas while in the comforting presence of her family, following an extended illness. Born in Chelsea on March 1, 1932, she was the daughter of the late Carmelo and Mary (Giordano) Santagate, and was raised and educated there. Rose was the second born in an Italian immigrant family that arrived from Sicily and settled in Chelsea. She learned the values of hard work and commitment while growing up, helping her father, mother and siblings in the family owned Italian food specialty store “Santagate’s Corner.” Rose was a keeper of the stories and cherished customs of her Sicilian immigrant family and neighbors, who moved to the U.S. from Santo Stefano, Sicily. She was the family’s last remaining link to the past. Her closeness to her siblings endured throughout her life. Rose was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother and will be greatly missed by her entire family. She had resided in Peabody before moving to Las Vegas in 1996. Rose had been an accountant with GTE and later Verizon for 27 years prior to her retirement in 1990. She enjoyed traveling, bowling, knitting and crocheting. She is survived by her husband Jack Barnes of Las Vegas; her sons Robert and his wife Sandi Umanita of Salisbury Charles and his wife Lorie Umanita of Rowley; her brothers Guy Santagate of Claremont, NH and Carmine and his wife Martha Santagate of Tewksbury, MA; her sisters, Marie Swiston and her husband Charles of Tampa, FL, Pauline and her husband Andrew Schafer of New York, NY; four grandchildren, Robert and Shannon Umanita of Salisbury and Danielle and Claudia Umanita of Rowley; a step-daughter, Melissa Arager and her husband Scott of Las Vegas, NV, and many nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Concetta Landers. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to gather for a visitation on Thursday January 21, 2016 from 11 – 12:30 P.M. in the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, followed by a Funeral Service at 12:30 P.M. Burial will be in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Carmelo Santagate Library Fund, c/o the Chelsea Library, Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150 in her memory.