Rosemary Elizabeth Gambino died comfortably at home on August 27, surrounded by loved ones, after a nearly two-year battle with small cell lung cancer. She was 70.
She was born in Middletown, N.Y., on Jan. 17, 1951 to Margery Horton Gambino and Charles Gambino. She attended our Lady of Mount Carmel in her early years, and grew up working in her family’s restaurant. She excelled as a nurse’s aide at Doctors Sunnyside Hospital in Port Jervis, N.Y., and after having her first and only child, she went to cosmetology school with the dream of one day owning her own salon.
In 1978, Rosemary moved to the Island with her son and friend Seth, and in 1980 she opened Rosecuts Hair Salon. She grew Rosecuts to become Martha’s Vineyard’s long-running beauty salon, all while raising a child. In 2016, she also opened Found It! Antiques and Collectables. This was a dream in her later years, and a passion project meant to occupy her through retirement.
In her over 40 years in business, Rosemary touched the lives of countless Island families, whether through her salon, antique collecting and trading, or her work with shut-ins and hospice patients, whose privacy she guarded with utmost professionalsim. She could also occasionally be spotted chauffeuring wedding couples in her beloved 1946 DeSoto Custom that her father rebuilt in the 1980s.
In addition to her many professional interests, she was an incredible gardener and orchid expert. She frequently took in sick or dying orchids and brought them back to life. Her plant expertise was only barely overshadowed by her incredible knowledge of classic movies and mid-century pop culture. For these, and for many other reasons, she was a wealth of knowledge that will be sorely missed.
She is survived by her son Seth Gambino of Tisbury; her mother Margery Gambino of Tisbury; and a brother, Charles Gambino Jr. of Wurtsboro, N.Y.
She will be remembered by all as an extremely hard working, passionate, compassionate and trustworthy confidant.
A celebration of Rosemary’s life will be held at the West Tisbury Agricultural Hall on Sunday, Sept. 12, from 2 to 6 p.m. All are welcome; masks are mandatory, no exceptions.
