Naomi C Fonseca

Wherever you go, I shall go.
Wherever you live, so shall I live.
Your people will be my people,
And your God will be my God too.
Wherever you die, I shall die.
And there shall I be buried beside you.
We will be together forever;
And our love will be the gift of our lives.

-Gregory Norbert, based on the biblical Book of Ruth-

My mother, Naomi Fonseca, née Roche, loved the story of Ruth and Naomi and their steadfast
devotion to each other. She also loved the song quoted above that was based on that story. In her
last weeks, and on her last day, her children and sister sang it to her. It is a story and a song to
commemorate love and devotion and the strength and importance of family. My mother
represented that and shared it with all of us: her family, her friends.
She also loved New York City, where she was born, and the plays, musicals, and restaurants of
Broadway that she introduced her children too and loved to attend with relatives and friends.
From Yul Brynner in The King and I to Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman; from Bernadette
Peters in A Little Night Music to Marian Seldes and Angela Lansbury in Deuce, she enjoyed
many plays and meals together with her husband, children, nieces, and nephews, and with her
beloved sister, Mary Ellen.  She dined at Sardi’s and had cheesecake at Lindy’s; she took her
children to the last automat. She passed on a love of theater and New York City and a good pre-
theater cocktail and meal through these wonderful outings.
Gathering at a restaurant to enjoy a meal and conversation; celebrating with pomp and
circumstance and making occasions special; keeping family connections strong and old friends
close; and reveling in her Irish heritage and her NYC birth and upbringing were all key elements
of her life. Her marriage to her husband, Arthur, was central. Through that marriage, she and
Arthur made precious life-long friendships when they joined Teams of Our Lady, a Catholic
marriage group that was so important to her and their married life.
When she was in her early 20s, she left for Oklahoma and taught in a new school founded by The
Grail, a young woman’s organization she was involved in—quite a bold move in her time. She
returned and taught for several more years in the New York City school system before getting
married and having children.
She was proud of her namesake Aunt Naomi, and of her Irish heritage.  She had a prodigious
memory. She was kind, sweet, stubborn, and strong. She was and is loved; she is already
missed. May she Rest in Peace.
She died on April 16, 2021, in Brooksville, FL, 6 months after her husband, Arthur. She leaves
behind her children Paul Fonseca, Elizabeth Fonseca, and John Fonseca; John’s partner Colleen
O’Brien; a large and loving extended family including her sister Mary Ellen Fagan and dear
friend and sister-in-law Cornelia Fonseca, and beloved friends. We remember her late husband,
Arthur Fonseca, her parents, Maurice Roche, Florence Roche (nee O’Connell), and her sibling
Maurice Roche II. May they all rest in peace.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made online at https://the-inn.org/tribute/or
by mail to The INN, 211 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11550 or to
https://vamosinmexico.org/donate/
A joint funeral mass for her and her late husband, Arthur Fonseca, will be held at their longtime
parish St. Pius X, Plainview, NY, on July 31, 2021, at 10:30 am with interment to follow at St.
Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY. A mass will also be said at her adopted parish, St.
Theresa’s, Spring Hill, FL, in the future.

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