Mooney, Vita Maria Elena

Vita Maria Elena Mooney, age 77, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, November 16th after a courageous battle with Merkel cell cancer.  Vita (known to family and friends as “Chickie”) was born on August 29, 1941 in Bay Shore, NY to Giovanni (John) and Carmela Mariella.

She is survived by her daughter, Lisa (Martin) Finnegan of Walworth, NY, sons Paul Mooney of East Rochester, NY, and Timothy (Lidia) Mooney of Little Elm, Texas; her six grandchildren: John, Connor and Ryan Finnegan and Nikolas, Isabella and Giancarlo Mooney; sister Theresa (Steven) Kirby of Blue Point, NY, sister-in-law Donale Mariella, nephew John (Lisa) Mariella, nieces Elizabeth Mariella, Stephanie (Jay) Dowd and Marisa (Drew) Becker, many cousins and friends.  She was pre-deceased by the father of her children, James V. Mooney, her parents, and her brother, Martin Mariella.  She will be fondly remembered by special friends Kim Butler and Steve Clancy.

The family would like to express its sincere appreciation to the staffs at Wilmot Cancer Center and the ICU at Strong Memorial Hospital for the care that they provided throughout her stay.

Vita was a polio survivor and had health issues throughout her life.  She focused not on her weaknesses, but on her strengths.  Vita held a BS in Psychology from Nazareth College and earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from SUNY Stony Brook in 1991.  She worked in a variety of fields over the years and especially cherished her time as an educator and tutor.  She found joy in shopping and finding deals – not for herself, but for others.  She enjoyed reading, swimming, singing and people-watching and loved to hit the dance floor.  Vita had a unique personality and those that knew her found humor in her unfiltered, blunt comments.

Vita had a loving heart.  Her greatest love was that which she had for her three children.  She was full of stories, and most of those focused on her children and grandchildren, all of whom she was very proud.

Vita struggled with mental illness throughout her life.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that she be remembered through contributions to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 320 North Goodman Street, Suite 102, Rochester, NY 14607 or via:  https://www.namiroc.org/donate-online/

The family will receive friends from 4:00 – 7:00pm on Friday, November 23rd at Keenan Funeral Home, 7501 Pittsford-Palmyra Road, Fairport.  A Mass celebrating Vita’s life will be held on Saturday, November 24th at 9:30am at The Church of St. Jerome, 250 Garfield Street, East Rochester.