Obituary of Margaret A. Rotondo-Hauer

Margaret Ann (Marge) Rotondo-Hauer, Registered Nurse, of Penfield, New York, died at home October 21, 2024 at age 74, having fought nearly four years a very rare disease similar to, but more severe than, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
 

Marge was born in Rochester, New York, on September 8, 1950, second daughter of Richard (a chemist) and Concetta (a Registered Nurne) Rotondo. In 1960, the Rotondo family, having added sons Louis and Michael, moved to a newly constructed home in Irondequoit - just a few miles from the family's prior home near Rochester's Public Market. After primary school, Marge attended and graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in 1968, then attended St. Joseph's School of Nursing in Elmira, graduating as a Registered Nurse. (It's notable that both Marge and her mother were each active as RNs for more than 50 years.)
 

Marge's first job as an RN was at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, working with head-and-neck cancer patients. After several years, Marge took a position at a hospital in Panama City, Florida and then a position at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in New Jersey where she became familiar with the challenges of transplanting vital organs such as hearts and lungs - at a time when such techniques were still being developed and refined.
 

In 1978, Marge returned to Rochester for a position in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). That position required assisting in delivering - and keeping alive - newborns who needed greater care than was available in a normal delivery room. NICU nurses occasionally traveled 100 or more miles to an out-of-area hospital whose doctors believed services of the URMC NICU might be - or were already - needed. Many neonates eventually went home, though some of the them stayed in the NICU for months. And some premies were born with problems that the available medical knowledge could not resolve. Some of those babies never had a chance to even see the sky. 
 

The job required skill, courage, sensitivity, tenacity, humor, and an ability to walk to your car putting much of what happened into a special place in your heart knowing you'll open that special place for your next shift.
 

Having worked in the NICU for eight years, Marge became all too familiar with a significant cause of problem deliveries: too many women failed to receive - or even seek - appropriate care during their pregnancies. Their reasons were many: having to work too far into their pregnancies; unable to have transportation to and from their appointments; being caught up in providing home care to existing children, spouses, elders; lacking funds to pay for necessary pre-natal care; and more.
 

Marge considered that as an opportunity to perhaps lessen the number of pre-term deliveries that required newborns to spend weeks, or months, in the NICU. She left the URMC NICU to work for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate in Rochester (BCBS) as a case manager - focused on guiding women who were at risk to the expertise, attention, and compassion of the URMC NICU.  
 

Marge worked at several other local healthcare organizations before retiring, always doing the best and always looking for better ways to help her patients - regardless of their age.
 

Marge was a shining example of someone who cares for others: their health, their spirits, their laughter and silliness. She is survived by her husband, Gary Hauer, sister Jean Leicht (Ed), brothers Louis and Michael (Lydia), many cousins, nieces, nephews, and many dear friends who will always love her.

Family and friends are invited to visitation for Marge on Friday, November 22nd from 3:00-6:00pm at the funeral home, 1704 Penfield Road, Penfield.  Marge's Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, November 23rd, 10:30 am at Assumption Church, 20 East Ave., Fairport.