ROCKLAND — Our mother, Janette Escorsio Mills, a descendant of Portuguese ancestry with an affinity to perpetual prayer, died at home December 15, 2023 at age 92, on the feast day of St. John of the Cross.

Her father, Angelo, with his sister Mary and their parents Julia and Amaro, immigrated from Porto Santo in the Madeiras in 1920. Her uncles, young Amaro and John, were born in America. Angelo and his wife, Ann Parker, bore Janette, Angelo Jr. (Sonny) and Carol Ann. Mom loved her brother and sister beyond all telling. She visited them weekly at their place of rest. Sonny and Carol died far too young.

Mom was an energetic nurse, working in hospitals and nursing homes until she retired. Her nursing school alumni from Mercy Hospital always remained close.

Mom’s family was fraught with tragedy. Julia’s (Nanny’s) husband Amaro and their son Amaro drowned together in an accident just northeast of Graffam Island while she helplessly watched. Then in 1944 the youngest captain in the O’Hara Fleet, Angelo Escorsio, who ran the FV Jeanne D’Arc, a magnificent vessel in her time, died Christmas Eve in a car accident after taking his crew home from Rockland to Portland after a fishing trip. Our mother, at 13 years of age, sang with the choir at Christmas Mass, despite losing her dad who was only 34.

She held herself up in a lifelong belief in God and in her youth her beautiful voice was inspiring to hear, and she carried it into praising God at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church and every church she ever stepped into. She never lost her desire for His infinite mercy and grace, and therefore prayed unceasingly for her family.

She left a mark on her extended family as they surrounded her on her last days. Her sons that she doted over and loved unconditionally are Chris, Jeff, Greg and Tom. Her daughter-in-law, Jeff’s Carol, worked like an angel for years helping her in every way and tending to our mother’s needs. Her grandsons she loved equally so, Carey, Connor and Joshua. Her great-grandsons, Christian and Leevi, were a blessing to her in so many ways.

A passing is very sad, but the tears were also tears of joy. Mom loved everything Portuguese. Her heritage, her country, the food, but most especially her family. God bless you Mom, goodbye for now.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, January 19, 2024, at 11 a.m., at St. Bernards Catholic Church, 150 Broadway, Rockland. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Spring interment will be in Coughlin Memorial Cemetery. To share a memory or story with Janette’s family, please visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.