“whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”

2 Corinthians 9:6

Caroline Barbero Napoli, of Roosevelt Road, East Rochester passed away at her residence on October 15, 2025 after a short illness. She was born on September 17, 1929, the daughter of Peter and Mary Borelli Barbero. A 1947 graduate of East Rochester High School, she worked for several years before becoming a full-time homemaker.

Caroline was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Carmella, her brothers Frank Barbero and Peter Barbero, and her husband Joseph. She is survived by her daughter JoAnn Ricci (the late Lon) and her two sons John (Anne) Napoli and Joseph (Marybeth) Napoli. She is also survived by her six grandchildren:  Joseph (Kara) Napoli, Mark (Brittany) Ricci, Dominic (Stephanie) Ricci, Kayla (Warwick) Hampson, Michael (Alyssa) Napoli and Marianne (Brandon) Westfall.  Caroline was blessed with twelve great-grandchildren (with another great-grandson on the way), all the supporting in-laws, and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Caroline grew up on Chestnut Street in East Rochester, NY. She shared the street with many young friends and continued these friendships throughout her life. Her future  husband Joseph Napoli came back home to East Rochester from the war in the Pacific and they married in 1949. When they had saved enough money, they bought their house on Roosevelt Road in East Rochester, next door to Joe’s sister Connie and her new husband Anthony Scalise. Both the Napolis and the Scalises lived their entire lives next door to each other on Roosevelt Road and even shared a common back yard so their children could play together on a large lawn. 

In their new home Joe and Caroline started their family together with the Scalises. They alternated having children with John Napoli coming first, Tom Scalise the next year, JoAnn Ricci (née Napoli) coming the next year, and Tony Scalise the year after. They waited a few more years and when Connie had another child, Caroline helped Connie take care of baby Tim. This convinced Caroline to have another child and her son Joe was born a year later. Later in life they spent many loving days with their many grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Caroline was blessed with numerous friends. She and her “gang” did many things together throughout their lives. The “gang” played golf, went bowling, went to dinner, took dancing lessons, went on numerous trips throughout the world, spent their winter months in Florida, all together for as long as they lived. Caroline was the organizer of most activities and collected all the money. When asked if there ever was any problem collecting money within her group, she replied: No, if we were short I would just ask for more from them and if we had extra I would just use it on our next activity.

Throughout her life Caroline collected friends. She was a Yankees fan and watched almost all the games. She was a fantastic cook and baker sharing her dishes and desserts with everyone she knew; even delivering Christmas cookies to her favorite manager at Bill Grays. She was the first to visit sick friends or to help someone in need. She even gave private cooking lessons and authored a cookbook. She was rewarded at the end of her life with Team Caroline, a collection of children, nieces, nephews, friends and in-laws that were able to keep her living at home until the day she died.

It was said that Caroline attacked a problem like water dripping on a stone … eventually the stone loses. Following that analogy, Caroline was Niagara Falls. She was quick and unhesitating in offering advice, even when unsolicited. But, it was difficult to ignore her advice because she was so often right. She lived her life confidently surrounded by her family and friends. She was also quick to call for help when she needed it. Many of her nieces and nephews will remember her many questions. Things like why her cable TV wasn’t working, or why the heat in her house wasn’t operating to her liking. (You know who you are).

Caroline had a long and remarkable life. It can almost be guaranteed that in the last three years she never spent a day without a relative, or friend, or a member of Team Caroline visiting her and helping out wherever they saw a need. She was constantly on the phone making calls, receiving calls, and leaving Happy Birthday messages when no one was home. She hosted Sunday pasta with her family for over 70 years, only allowing others to do some of the cooking in the last year. Every year she hosted a clam bake and the last one in 2025 had twenty-seven of her descendants and their spouses attend. Quite a remarkable life, indeed.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Caroline can be made to St. Jerome’s Church in East Rochester or to a special charity of your choice. A celebration of her life will take place at St. Jerome’s Church on November 29 at 9:30 a.m. with a reception to follow.