Kimberly A. Grosso, age 66, of Melville, New York passed away on Friday, September 6, 2024. Beloved wife of Dr. John Grosso. Loving mother of Jennifer, Brian and Christine. She will be missed by all who knew her. Family and friends may visit at Claude R. Boyd Caratozzolo Funeral home on Wednesday September 11, 2024 from 2:00-4:00 pm and 7:00-9:00 pm. Family eulogy Wednesday 8:00 pm at the funeral home. Private cremation will follow.
Thank you for being here today, and thank you for loving and supporting Kim through the years and especially recently. Kim and I both thank you for all your calls, texts, cards, flowers, food, visits, and kind thoughts and gestures that helped us get through the rough times.
“You Find Out Who Your Friends Are” is a country song. For those of you who showed Kim and I the true meaning of friendship and love, thank you. You all helped me to give Kim the best life possible. In sickness and in health.
I want to thank our children, Jenny, Brian, and Christine, who have given Kim and I so much to be proud of over the years, and for the concern and care you each have given to your mom throughout her illness, especially in the past few months. We could not have gotten through this without you. During one of our talks just last week, Kim told me that she was so glad that all of her children were happy and in a good place. I could tell she found great comfort in that. It’s what most mothers would hope for when they leave this world. When she found out a few months ago that her condition was terminal, she reflected back on her first big illness, bone marrow cancer, about 25 years ago. She said all she wanted then was the chance to see her children grow up, and she got that gift.
With all the medical problems and close calls Kim has had over the years, you would think I’ve had plenty of time to write something for today. But just like Kim, I always believed that she had one more fight left in her. Another miracle.
Kim and I went to Sloan Kettering on July 15th for another flare up of her illness. When they discharged her, I told her that she had “escaped again” and that she must have 109 lives, not just 9. She laughed, and she knew it was true. There were so many close calls for her. But another miracle did, in fact, happen. Kim’s suffering and pain are finally over and she is at peace. And I thank God for that.
Kim and I have been High School sweethearts for 50 years. It has been a very special love story, one that I will cherish forever. We grew up together, we raised a family together, we worked together, we played together. We did everything together. Kim loved boating--lucky for me--and we shared that also. Even when Kim’s health was declining, with the help of family, we were able to get her out on the boat for one more trip just a couple of weeks ago. It was a special day for all of us.
And although I will continue to do these things we love now that she is gone, they just won’t be as good without her. Because she made everything in our lives special.
Kim was the most loving and supportive wife I was lucky enough to have. When I told her I wanted to start a new ENT practice in 2019, we worked together, and she helped and supported me without hesitation. She was my biggest fan, as always. She has made me a better man and a better person.
She has also been the best mother I could have asked for for our children. She loved and cared for them throughout their lives, unconditionally. Every year, she worked so hard to make the holidays special in our home. She made sure our kids always had the best Christmas--not just all the presents, but the decorations and the spirit of that time of year. It was always so special.
She loved to watch Hallmark Christmas movies in December, in July, and pretty much ALL year long. She mostly watched them because Hallmark movies always have a happy ending. That was her positive spirit, always looking for the happiness in everything. In these last few months, we BOTH needed to be lifted with positivity and hope, so the Hallmark movies became another thing we shared, like so many other things over our 50 years together.
Kim always gave so much unconditional love and support to her family and friends. She really never held a grudge for more than a minute, lucky for me. She was just so very forgiving and tolerant. And I can tell you that even during the worst parts of her illness, she was concerned about all of You. She wanted to make sure that you would all be okay when she was gone.
She loved her siblings and cousins very much, and she enjoyed spending time with them, especially when she knew her time was limited. Scrabble games with Cindy were a morning ritual she enjoyed for many years. She loved my siblings, her sisters-in-law, and her nieces and nephews. She was an amazing sister-in-law and aunt, and in return they showed her love, respect, and kindness, especially during her illness.
Kim loved living on Mary Court where she and I, and our children, made lifelong friends, and had so many good times. She had many friends, especially her closest friends from high school, and they all stepped up and came to her side in these last few months, as always.
We have all been so lucky to have had Kim in our lives. She made everyone around her better, and feel better about themselves. She was the model of strength, kindness, patience, and love. I know we will all miss her very much.
Thank you, Kim, for everything you have given to us and for making our lives so much better. We will all miss your smile, your kind words, your amazing strength, courage, and determination, your support and your love, your love of family and friends, and your love of life.
And for everyone here today, please feel free to share your memories, pictures and stories of Kim with me and with each other to help keep her memory alive.
I read something recently that said when we pass, we can’t take any of the possessions we had throughout our lives, we can only take the goodwill we accumulated through a life of love and caring. If that is so, then Kim will definitely be taking an endless amount with her.
We love you and we will miss you.
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.12.1