Beloved journalist whose roots in Omagh shaped a life of faith

A BELOVED American journalist who never forgot her youth in Omagh has died at the age of 96.

Born in Passaic a historic city in New Jersey USA, Maura Rossi (née Devlin) was brought to live in the Tyrone town, the birthplace of her father Ted Devlin, when her mother died of tuberculosis.

Ted was originally from Lower Market Street and Maura spent her formative years living with two unmarried Devlin sisters, her Auntie Sadie and Auntie Belle.

They lived on Killyclogher Road, just after the Swinging Bars roundabout.

She attended a boarding school in Monaghan which was founded by the Sisters of St Louis. She loved the school and the sisters there. She talked of it often with admiration.

She returned to Passaic County, USA to live with her father when she was 19. There she attended Fordham University and a dramatic arts school. In 1955 she married Francis Adolph Rossi, who was also a newspaper reporter. Maura worked at the Bergen Record and the Paterson News.

Their first child, Christina, was born soon after. There followed in quick succession seven more girls. The family lived in Fair Lawn before moving to Upper Saddle River in 1965.

After her career as a reporter, Maura served for several years as the Director of Public Relations at St Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, a city she loved.

Then she returned to the newspaper business, moving to The Beacon, the newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson.

She reported on events in the Catholic parishes and also on state and national news.

She accompanied Pope John Paul II on his American tour, reporting on his travels for The Beacon. She also travelled to Central America to report on the countries and the Catholic religious work there.

Her husband, Frank, worked as an editor at the Daily News in New York in his later career.

Maura received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the Diocese of Paterson and was named a Papal Lady by church authorities.

Maura was a member of the choir at Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River for many years. She also worked for the soup kitchen ministry there. She was an inveterate storyteller and would tell tales of her time in Ireland and especially of her two aunts.

After 25 years she retired from The Beacon. She volunteered at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Totowa.

She was a great cook and read the Times and The Record up until she died.

Maura is survived by seven daughters, Christina, Mary Loekle, Nina, Agnes, Chiara Duggan, Patricia and Elissa. She is also survived by ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her husband Frank died at 94 in 2022. She was pre-deceased by her daughter, Francesca, in 2023.

She returned to visit Omagh a number of times over the years and still has Devlin, Kelly and Cunningham relatives living in Omagh, Derry, Belfast and Dublin.

A funeral Mass will be offered this Saturday (November 16) at 11am at Church of the Presentation, 271 W. Saddle River Rd., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.