“A few years ago, before COVID-19 and before she retired, I bumped into Robbie and her family at a local ice cream parlor; it was so nice to see her smiling and surrounded by grandchildren. That is how I will remember her.” -Luisa Cywinski, Director of Access Services.

The campus community and Falvey Library are saddened to hear the news of the passing of former library staff member Roberta (Robbie) Rosci on March 7, 2023. She was 68. A resident of Drexel Hill, Pa., Rosci joined Villanova University in 1997. She retired in October 2020, after almost 23 years of service to Falvey Library. David Burke, Metadata Librarian, expressed his gratitude working alongside Rosci in Resource Management & Description. “I admired how she persevered in coming in to work no matter how sick she got (she had Multiple Sclerosis for at least the last 10 years while working at Falvey) and still preserved a friendly, good-natured demeanor.”

Rosci’s “greatest joy in life was being a mother and a grandmother.” Regina Duffy, Communication & Marketing Program Manager, fondly remembers the joy Rosci displayed whenever she spoke of her family and her late husband Michael (Mike) Rosci, Sr. “Robbie was a warm and welcoming presence at Falvey Library. I always enjoyed seeing her at our staff events and chatting about her grandchildren. Talking about them lit up her entire face—she was so proud to be their grandmother. Robbie will be greatly missed by all.”

Her colleague Laura Hutelmyer, former Acquisitions & Electronic Resources Coordinator, expressed her gratitude in working alongside Rosci. “Robbie’s job was to catalog books, but as many books evolved to an online format, Robbie was asked to take on special assignments that required training and perseverance. She always accepted these challenges and worked hard. Even as COVID-19 sent us all to work from home, Robbie attended every morning meeting via cell phone and participated fully, in spite of physical limitations, as part of the team. Robbie was devoted to Falvey Library and, for 23 years, continued a Rosci family Villanova tradition that began with her husband Mike. She was a kind co-worker and a good friend to many in the library.”

Margaret Duffy, Director of Finance & Administration, will remember Rosci for her kindheartedness and friendly smile. “Her family was everything to her…she was always so proud of her boys. As Robbie’s health declined, her husband Mike faithfully brought her to and from work every day, making sure she was settled at her desk, which is where she wanted to be. Robbie was determined to remain active and engaged in work at Falvey Library as long as she was able. I enjoyed sharing our conversations about grandchildren and seeing her at the year-end picnic at the preschool our grandchildren attended together. Robbie was a good friend and colleague at Falvey and will be greatly missed.”

Contributions in Rosci’s memory can be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. View her full obituary here. Robbie will be greatly missed at the Library and throughout the Villanova community.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

“Every day I would wave to Robbie and her husband Mike as they left Falvey Library. My desk is near a large window and I always looked forward to our brief exchange. They were both kind and generous people.”

The Rev. George F. Riley, OSA, PhD, ’58 CLAS (second row). Image courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library (Belle Air 1963).

Image courtesy of the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova.

The Rev. George F. Riley, OSA, PhD, ’58 CLAS, ’61 MA, passed away on Friday, Sept. 16, at the age of 87. A beloved member of the Villanova community for 65 years, Fr. Riley was assigned to Saint Thomas Monastery and Villanova University in 1962. “He taught religious studies and ethics at Villanova; served as the Province’s Vocation Director (where he also served as Secretary and Archivist); was the University’s liaison for the Peace Corps; served as the Special Assistant to the President of Villanova University; and also worked as Vice President for University Relations.” In addition to serving on numerous boards and authoring many publications and sermons, Fr. Riley began the Villanova Magazine in 1984.

Assisting with the University’s first two capital campaigns, Covenant I & II, Fr. Riley helped raise more than $83 million for Villanova. Riley Hall, which houses University Advancement, is named in his honor. The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, expressed the community’s admiration for Fr. Riley in his message to Villanova faculty, staff, students, and alumni on Sept. 16:

“Villanova is a better place for Fr. Riley being a part of it. His knowledge has brought wisdom, his humor has brought joy and his dedication has brought inspiration to so many of those around him. His legacy and lasting impact on Villanova are evident in the stories and recollections of the generations of Villanovans, who speak so fondly of Fr. Riley and recall the significant role he played in their lives.”

View Fr. Riley’s full obituary here. A viewing will be held Monday, Sept. 26, at St. Thomas of Villanova Church from 3–7 p.m., followed by the funeral mass at 7 p.m. A livestream link of the viewing and funeral mass will be available on this webpage.

Support the Fr. George F. Riley, OSA Fund for Augustinian HealthCare here.

Fr. Riley’s personal papers were transferred to the University Archives last year. His personal papers are from his time working at Villanova and include his writings, sermons, homilies, speeches, research material, Villanova event materials, and personal photographs. The collection was processed by Jessie Pagan, Theology and Religious Studies doctorial student, and will be publicly available for research soon.

“Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won’t write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any.” —Anne Rice

Author of more than 30 novels, Anne Rice was born Howard Allen O’Brien and raised in New Orleans. Changing her name to Anne in the first grade, Rice lived with her parents and three sisters in New Orleans until her mother passed away when she was 15. Her father remarried and moved the family to Richardson, Texas. She attended Texas Woman’s University for a time before marrying Stan Rice, whom she had met in high school. After their marriage in 1961, the couple moved to San Francisco, and attended San Francisco State University where Rice earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (and later a Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing in 1972).

In 1966, the couple’s daughter Michele was born. After relocating to Berkeley, Calif., in 1969, Rice wrote the short story Interview With the Vampire. In 1970, Michele was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away in 1972. The following year, Rice worked to make Interview With the Vampire into a novel (published in 1976). Struggling with the loss of her daughter, “she conjured up the vampire Lestat [Interview‘s main character] out of her grief.”

Her son Christopher was born in 1978 and in 1980 she and her husband moved to San Francisco and returned to New Orleans in 1988. In 1994, the film adaptation of Interview With the Vampire was released. Directed by Neil Jordan, the movie starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, Helen McCrory, Thandiwe Newton, and Christian Slater also starred. Interview With the Vampire was the first of 13 novels in The Vampire Chronicles series that became “one of the most popular and profitable vampire properties of all time; selling upwards of 80 million copies worldwide.”

Rice is the author of numerous standalone novels and books series including The Wolf Gift chronicles, The Mayfair Witches, The Sleeping Beauty series, among others. Her novel, Feast of All Saints became a Showtime mini series in 2001. Rice adored her fans, telling the ABC News program Day One in 1993, “When I go to my signings…Everybody else is dripping with velvet and lace, and bringing me dead roses wrapped in leather handcuffs, and I love it.” Her fans in New Orleans, part of the Vampire Lestat Fan Club, host numerous events including an annual Anne Rice Vampire Ball. A local celebrity in her hometown, Rice was know to show up to local book signings in a coffin. Rice passed away on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., from complications of a stroke.

Rice was hopeful her legacy would live on—”I want to be loved and never forgotten…I’m really greedy, you know? I want to be immortal.” Rice’s life and legacy remains though her family, her fans and her writing. Acquiring Rice’s major literary works in 2020, AMC Networks plans to adapt Interview With The Vampire in an upcoming TV series on AMC and AMC+ set to premiere in 2022.

Explore some of Rice’s work below:

Autobiography:

• Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession (2008) 

Standalone novels:

• The Feast of All Saints (1979)
• Cry to Heaven (1982)
• Exit to Eden (1985)
• Belinda (1986)
• Servant of the Bones (1996)
• Violin (1997)

The Wolf Gift Chronicles:

• The Wolf Gift (2012)
• The Wolves of Mid-Winter (2013)

The Vampire Chronicles:

• Interview with the Vampire (1976)
• The Vampire Lestat (1985)
• The Queen of the Damned (1988)
• The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
• Memnoch the Devil (1995)
• The Vampire Armand (1998)
• Merrick (2000)
• Blood and Gold (2001)
• Blackwood Farm (2002)
• Blood Canticle (2003)
• Prince Lestat (2014)
• Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016)
• Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat (2018)

New Tales of the Vampires:

• Pandora (1998)
• Vittorio the Vampire (1999)

The Mayfair Witches:

• The Witching Hour (1990)
• Lasher (1993)
• Taltos (1994)

The Vampire Chronicles/The Mayfair Witches Crossover:

• Merrick (2000)
• Blackwood Farm (2002)
• Blood Canticle (2003)

The Life of Christ:

• Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (2005)
• Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana (2008)

Songs of the Seraphim:

• Angel Time (2009)
• Of Love and Evil (2010)

Ramses the Damned:

• The Mummy (1989)
• Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra (2017)

Further reading:

• Anne Rice, the gothic novelist who wrote ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ dies at age 80 (The Associated Press, 2021)
• Anne Rice, the Novelist Who Spun Gothic Tales of Vampires, Is Dead at 80 (The New York Times, 2021)
• Anne Rice Finds Werewolves In The Redwoods (NPR, 2012)
• These Days, Anne Rice Prefers Angels (NPR, 2009)
• Anne Rice: An Interview with the Vampire Writer (NPR, 2003)
• AMC Networks Announces It Has Purchased the Rights to the Ionic Works of Anne Rice (AMC Networks, 2020)

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

References:

Screenshot of Nora C. Ramos-Rojas’ virtual memorial mass on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at St. Thomas of Villanova Church.

“Villanova became her home, her family.” This quote by University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS, encapsulates the community that Nora C. Ramos-Rojas ’17 CPS created when she stepped foot on campus in the late 1990s. Ramos-Rojas passed away on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, from cancer. A memorial mass was held for her on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas of Villanova Church.

Born in Columbia in 1948, Ramos-Rojas came to the United States in 1973, earned her Green Card in the 1970s and became a United States citizen. Shortly after joining the Villanova community in the late 90’s she enrolled in the College of Professional Studies. Working in the custodial department at Villanova University, Ramos-Rojas’ sparkling personality brightened Falvey Memorial Library. Staff and students became accustomed to Ramos’ cheerful optimism and determination. In the library building early (so she could take classes in the evening), Falvey staff would often have to remind Ramos-Rojas that she would have to leave (as the Library was closing).

That resilience never wavered, and Ramos-Rojas graduated from Villanova on May 19, 2017, with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in General Studies after taking courses at Villanova for 19 years to complete her degree. She was awarded the inaugural Grit Award for her passion, persistence, and commitment to her education.

Recalling the Bible story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), Father Donohue stated that Ramos-Rojas exhibited traits of both sisters. Like Mary, she was devoted to her faith; a parishioner at Saint Colman Parish in Ardmore and a frequent volunteer on numerous service trips with the Villanova University Center for Peace and Justice Education program. Like Martha, she was passionate about helping others. During her time at Villanova she volunteered as a translator for Villanova University School of Law’s Clinic for Asylum, Refugee, and Emigrant Services (FLAC), which provides representation to refugees who have fled their home country due to human rights abuses and are seeking religious or political asylum in the United States. After graduation, she taught Spanish to young children at a local nursery school. Never without a smile, Ramos-Rojas always offered her support and help to those who crossed her path.

As Susan Leighton, Director of Academic Programs, and Ramos-Rojas’ former classmate reminisced, “In true Augustinian fashion, Villanova transformed Nora, and Nora transformed Villanova.” Her memory of strength, generosity, and integrity will live on through her family, friends, and her Villanova community.

For Ramos-Rojas’ full obituary, visit the Chadwick and McKinney Funeral Home webpage. Ramos-Rojas was featured in Falvey Library’s fall 2017 edition of Mosaic.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.