Bendetta Larocco
March 15, 1925 — April 7, 2016
• Bendetta “Tootsie” LaRocco, 91, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on
April 7, 2016. She was born on March 15, 1925, in Stamford, CT to the late Ernest and Olympia
Mallozzi.
Tootsie met the love of her life, Sam LaRocco, growing up on Stamford’s West Side, which was
comprised of predominantly Italian immigrants. Tootsie came from a large family of six brothers
and three sisters, of which she was the oldest sister and helped raise many of her younger
siblings. She also helped manage the family store, Mallozzi’s Market, at just fifteen years old.
She shared many wonderful stories with her extended family and friends of growing up on Rose
Park Avenue, her Italian heritage, Sunday meals in the backyard and how she met, was courted
by, and following World War II, married the love of her life Sam LaRocco.
Tootsie and Sam spent 73 wonderful years together and often traveled to California to visit with
their son John, a Hollywood agent, and enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Nova Scotia, France and Italy.
Tootsie also enjoyed time with her grandchildren, Michael and Brian, especially Sunday dinners
when she served up heaping plates of pasta and her famous meatballs. Together with her husband
Sam, who will always be the love of her life, they became the proud owners of Budget Dry
Cleaners in Riverside, CT. They had over thirty wonderful years working side by side and were
overjoyed and totally surprised when the customers arranged for a surprise retirement party. It
was one of the happiest days of their lives.
Throughout her life, Tootsie was quite active and was a past president of the St. Cecilia PTA, as
well as head of St. Cecilia’s choir. Tootsie was a strong maternal figure and enthusiastically
involved in raising her four boys. Whether it was school projects, trips to sports practice and
games or the frequent trips to New York City for auditions, plays and filming, Tootsie was never
short of energy, praise or inspiration for her sons.
Tootsie led by example and showed an inner strength and vitality that was an inspiration to all
that she met. She was full of love and life for her family and passed those feelings on to all those
she knew or even met for the first time. She inspired and lifted others no matter who they were
and no matter what the situation. Many thanks to all our friends and relatives for past memories
that will always be cherished.
Tootsie is survived by her sons John LaRocca and his partner Doris Mendenhall, Joseph
LaRocco and his wife Regina and her grandchildren, Michael and Brian LaRocco. She is also
survived by her kid sister Lana “Cookie” Rondano. Besides her parents, she was also
predeceased by her sons Ernest and Samuel "Sonny" LaRocco, Jr. “Good night sweet mother and
may the flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104
Myrtle Avenue, Stamford on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 9:10 AM for a Mass of Christian Burial
to be celebrated at 10:00 AM at the Church of St. Cecilia, 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford.
Interment will follow at St. John's RC Cemetery, Darien. Family and friends may call at the
funeral home on Monday, April 11, 2016 from 5-8:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that donations be made in Tootsie's memory to NAMI Southwest CT. To leave online
condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
April 7, 2016. She was born on March 15, 1925, in Stamford, CT to the late Ernest and Olympia
Mallozzi.
Tootsie met the love of her life, Sam LaRocco, growing up on Stamford’s West Side, which was
comprised of predominantly Italian immigrants. Tootsie came from a large family of six brothers
and three sisters, of which she was the oldest sister and helped raise many of her younger
siblings. She also helped manage the family store, Mallozzi’s Market, at just fifteen years old.
She shared many wonderful stories with her extended family and friends of growing up on Rose
Park Avenue, her Italian heritage, Sunday meals in the backyard and how she met, was courted
by, and following World War II, married the love of her life Sam LaRocco.
Tootsie and Sam spent 73 wonderful years together and often traveled to California to visit with
their son John, a Hollywood agent, and enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Nova Scotia, France and Italy.
Tootsie also enjoyed time with her grandchildren, Michael and Brian, especially Sunday dinners
when she served up heaping plates of pasta and her famous meatballs. Together with her husband
Sam, who will always be the love of her life, they became the proud owners of Budget Dry
Cleaners in Riverside, CT. They had over thirty wonderful years working side by side and were
overjoyed and totally surprised when the customers arranged for a surprise retirement party. It
was one of the happiest days of their lives.
Throughout her life, Tootsie was quite active and was a past president of the St. Cecilia PTA, as
well as head of St. Cecilia’s choir. Tootsie was a strong maternal figure and enthusiastically
involved in raising her four boys. Whether it was school projects, trips to sports practice and
games or the frequent trips to New York City for auditions, plays and filming, Tootsie was never
short of energy, praise or inspiration for her sons.
Tootsie led by example and showed an inner strength and vitality that was an inspiration to all
that she met. She was full of love and life for her family and passed those feelings on to all those
she knew or even met for the first time. She inspired and lifted others no matter who they were
and no matter what the situation. Many thanks to all our friends and relatives for past memories
that will always be cherished.
Tootsie is survived by her sons John LaRocca and his partner Doris Mendenhall, Joseph
LaRocco and his wife Regina and her grandchildren, Michael and Brian LaRocco. She is also
survived by her kid sister Lana “Cookie” Rondano. Besides her parents, she was also
predeceased by her sons Ernest and Samuel "Sonny" LaRocco, Jr. “Good night sweet mother and
may the flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104
Myrtle Avenue, Stamford on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 9:10 AM for a Mass of Christian Burial
to be celebrated at 10:00 AM at the Church of St. Cecilia, 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford.
Interment will follow at St. John's RC Cemetery, Darien. Family and friends may call at the
funeral home on Monday, April 11, 2016 from 5-8:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that donations be made in Tootsie's memory to NAMI Southwest CT. To leave online
condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
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