City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Kathryn Rosmarino

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 82.
Died 12/21/2023.

Kathryn  Rosmarino
Kathryn (“Kat”) A. Rosmarino, 82, of Raleigh, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on December 21, the winter solstice, with her daughters by her side. Kathryn lived in the Raleigh area for the past 28 years. She grew up in Otisco, New York in a large family. She had fond memories of life growing up on the farm.
She studied at LeMoyne College, with plans to become a nun. She was married to her former spouse John Rosmarino for 30 years, and they raised five daughters in Cazenovia, New York. Her five girls were the greatest pride of her life. She loved being a mother. Up until the end of her long life she would ask how her daughters were, even when she was enduring hardship.

Her daughters and their families will miss her dearly: Gina Jennings of Raleigh, NC, Denise Searle and her husband, James, of Black Mountain, NC, Bettina Rosmarino of Palms Springs, CA, Claudine Wispelwey and her husband, Nicholas, of Charlottesville, VA, and Nicole Rosmarino and her husband, Jay Tutchton, of Centennial, CO. Kathryn treasured her grandchildren: Thaddeus and Oliver Searle and Garrett and Lucy Wispelwey.

Kathryn was profoundly loving, compassionate, and charitable. She never hesitated to donate to individuals and organizations in need. She was also active in politics, pressing for what was just. She loved gardening, cooking, baking, and hand-written letters telling you she loved you.

She worked at Syracuse University for many years, putting each of her daughters through collegeand herself earning a degree in psychology. Kathryn was a life-long learner: a voracious reader, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be reading five books at once.

She was known for her constant smile and humor and desire to help others. She made friends easily and laughed with everyone right up until the end.
In addition to her daughters, Kathryn is survived by her sister, Marie Anne McDonough of Camillus, NY, her brother Patrick McDonough (Lori) of Marietta, NY, her brother Francis McDonough (CeCe) of Lafayette, NY, her close friend, Darlene Rosmarino of Frederick, MD, and many loving nieces and nephews. Kathryn was preceded in death by her parents, John Miles and Roberta McDonough, and brothers Michael, Paul, Robert, and John McDonough.

A celebration of life will take place in the spring of 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charities she loved to support: Oswit Land Trust, Southern Plains Land Trust, and SPCA of Wake County. The family is thankful to the staff at Duke Raleigh Hospital for their excellent care.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.

City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

icon
Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

icon
Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

icon
Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

icon
Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

icon
Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

icon
Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

icon
Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations