Aurora Gurgone

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Aurora Codraro Gurgone (91), passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at her home with her six children and many of her grandchildren surrounding her with love.

Aurora was born and raised in the Bronx, NY by Natale and Antonia Codraro. As the youngest of eight children, her siblings doted on her. She enjoyed their attention and spending time with them and their children.

Thanks to the support of her family, Aurora was the first of her family to attend college. She graduated from Hunter College with a degree in foreign languages, serving as an inspiration for her family to follow.  She was fluent in Latin, Italian, and Spanish and worked as a translator at Squibb for several years before getting married and starting a family.  Aurora married Louis Gurgone on September 11, 1955 and they spent the first few years of their married life in the Bronx. In 1960, they purchased their lifelong family home in Staten Island where they raised their six children.  Aurora remained in her family home on Winchester Avenue until she moved to live with her youngest daughter, Aurora, and her loving family.

Aurora devoted her life to taking care of everyone, from her family and friends to anyone who needed her empathetic heart and a warm meal.  Aurora’s lifelong friendships are proof that it was a blessing and inspiration to be around her nurturing, giving, and loving spirit.

Aurora was very active in her church – running spaghetti dinners, participating in the Renew Group and helping at the pre-school, cleaning the sacristy, and ironing vestments and altar linens. She served as a Eucharist Minister and as a RCI sponsor.  She was an active member of Holy Child Church and later at Our Lady Star of the Sea.  Her strong faith was a constant in her life that gave her and those around her tremendous comfort.

Aurora lived a life full of generosity, laughter, and love. She will always be remembered for her kind heart and devotion to her family. She was an amazing cook; always making sure there was a delicious meal on the table for her family and friends.  Everyone felt at home in her presence and she had an amazing ability to remember everyone’s favorite food, interests, and hobbies.  As the matriarch of the family, she was always the star of large family gatherings.

Aurora was predeceased by her parents (Natale and Antonia), her seven siblings (Anita, Santa, Aida, Minnie, Vera, Millie, and Tony), her loving husband (Louis), and her son-in-law (Michael).  She is survived by her six children and their spouses (Diane and Len Porsello, Christine and Peter Poidomani, Susan Cella, Maria and Michael Rossi, Louis and Eileen Gurgone, and Aurora and Roy Martinez), her thirteen grandchildren, her two great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and many great friends.

A mass celebrating Aurora’s life is planned for Monday, May 10th (which would have been her 92nd birthday) at 12 noon at Our Lady Star of the Sea (Staten Island) immediately followed by the interment of her ashes at Resurrection Cemetery.  COVID protocols will be followed.

Donations in Aurora's name would be appreciated to the St. Edward Food Pantry  5581 Hylan Blvd. Staten Island, NY 10309  OR  Our Lady Star of the Sea Church  5371 Amboy Rd.  Staten Island, NY 10312

**********The mass can also be viewed live by going to OLSSparish.org and clicking on "live video"*****