Barbara Katherine Borruso

Barbara Katherine Borruso (née Denega), 81, of Amityville, New York, passed away on September 16, 2026.

Barbara was born on July 1, 1945, in New York City, the daughter of Alexander Denega and Winifred Denega (née Cleary). She grew up in Hell’s Kitchen but spent summers in Ronkonkoma on Long Island, where as a preteen she met Thomas Camillo Borruso — their families both had summer bungalows there. The two married young, on November 20, 1965, at St. Gabriel Church in the Bronx, and quickly built a large and close-knit family. After welcoming their fourth child (in four-and-a-half years) in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens, they moved to a house in Holbrook on Long Island, where they raised their five children.

In the mid-1980s, the family moved to Surrey, England, for a few years — an adventure that took them across Europe and gave Barbara a lifetime of favorite stories to share. After returning to Long Island, she never tired of telling those stories, and she kept a treasured collection of thimbles from all the places she had visited.

Barbara was a devoted mother who always advocated for and supported her children. She was always there to cheer you on, and when you called with good news, she would be so excited for you. She was a gifted crafter whose handmade ceramic Christmas ornaments remain among her children's most treasured possessions. She always insisted she hated cooking, but nobody could beat her meatloaf, goulash, pot roast, macaroni salad, or potato salad. Most of all, she loved to laugh — the stupider the joke, the harder she laughed.

When she liked something, she really liked it. Her collections of David Winter cottages, Michel Delacroix prints, Spode Christmas china, Royal Doulton face mugs, Waterford crystal, Wedgwood china, and Tweety Bird clothing and memorabilia were just some of the evidence of her obsessions. She loved rhododendrons and yard work. She once said while raking leaves that she had always dreamed as a young girl growing up in the city that one day she'd have a yard to rake.

From the time their first grandchildren were young, Barbara and Tom loved to treat them to Disney World vacations through their Disney Vacation Club membership — trips that became a cherished family tradition.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Thomas, in 2016, and by her brother, Richard Denega.

Barbara is survived by her five children: Michael Thomas Borruso and his wife Amy Capute Borruso, Marianne Gilmore and her husband Kevin Gilmore, Christopher Thomas Borruso and his wife Susan Trapasso Borruso, Melissa Borruso Rice and her husband Jeremy Rice, and Dennis (now known as Danika) Borruso. She is also survived by ten grandchildren: Alexander, Madeline, and Vivian Borruso; Anthony, Gabriella, and Isabella Borruso; Maximillian Gilmore; and Winston, Victoria, and Cecilia Rice.