Mama T, a Puerto Rico native who raised six kids, dies at 82

Rosabel TenEyck Valese, affectionately known as Mama T, died on Oct. 21 at the age of 82. She left behind a family of twelve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, a network that expanded after she remarried in 2011. Her life spanned decades in New York and Florida, where she built a reputation for generous hospitality and large-scale cooking.

Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, on March 5, 1944, to Domingo and Rosa Nieto Marrero, Rose moved to Nyack, New York, as a child. There, she met her childhood sweetheart, James TenEyck. The couple married and raised six children: sons James, Jon, Keith, Richard, and Christopher, and daughter Kristina. James died in 1996, ending a 35-year marriage. Rose remained a primary caregiver for the family, eventually taking on roles for friends' children in addition to her own.

In 2011, Rose married Michael Valese. This union brought two stepchildren into her household, Jennifer and Michael, and shifted the center of gravity for the family to Florida. She spent most of her retirement in the state, residing with Michael. Her cooking was a staple of family gatherings, often producing meals large enough to feed what friends described as a small army. She maintained close ties with her extended family, which now includes twelve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren across multiple states.

The family lists the twelve grandchildren as Scott, Sean, Kyle, William, Logan, Savannah, Samantha, James, Lillyann, Maxwell, Jaxson, and Evangeline. The seven great-grandchildren are Arthur James, Malachi, Fayth, Sahi, Chance, Luca, and Leo. Rose’s immediate survivors include her husband, Michael, and her six adult children, each of whom is married. Her death concludes a life that moved from a Caribbean island to suburban New York and finally to the Florida coast.