Carmen L. Page

Predeceased by her husband, John James Page of Henrietta. Carmen, 83, struggled with memory loss over the last few years and went to be with Our Lord & Savior on June 19, 2022, while in hospice care at St. John’s Home in Rochester, NY. She is survived by her four daughters, Kimberly (Steven) Grammatica, Jeanine (John) Wolfe, Heidi Marie (Brian) Paige, Eileen (Robert Jr.) Messer of Maryland; her three sisters, M Teresa Morales of Florida, Persida Rivera, Noemi (John) Cruz of NYC, and brother, Alfred Rivera of NJ; several cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and many dear friends.

Her family will receive friends from 4-7 PM, at Miller Funeral & Cremation Services Inc., 3325 South Winton Road, Rochester, NY 14623 on Thursday, June 23, 2022. A Funeral Mass will be at St. Marianne Cope Roman Catholic Parish, 2061 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623 on Friday, June 24, 2022 at 10:00 AM with Rev. Father Eloo officiating. The Funeral Mass will be live streamed for those unable to attend by clicking on the “View Live Webstreams” tab of the funeral home website.  Interment of her cremains will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery, Rush-Scottsville Road, Rush, NY 14543.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Lollipop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester, 99 Victor Rd, Fairport, NY 14450 or to St. Marianne Cope Roman Catholic Parish, 2061 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623 in Carmen’s memory.

Carmen is remembered most for her generosity, her creativity, her willingness to support others, and her dedication to her many projects. She was born in Manhattan, New York City on July 6, 1938 of Puerto Rican parents, Candida “Carmen” Miro and Nestor “Henry” Coronado. She disliked city life at age fourteen when she became a Fresh Air Kid on summer vacation in Rush, New York with “Mother White’s” family as her host family. Delighted with her new surroundings, she asked to stay another three years to attend Rush-Henrietta Roth School and graduate in the class of 1956.

She married her high school sweetheart, John Page, on May 10, 1957 when she was eighteen years old. They both enjoyed travelling to near and far away places right from the start of their marriage. However, along came two daughters, Kimberly and Jeanine, that cramped their apartment living. Consequently, they moved in 1962 into a Henrietta, three bedroom / one bath, ranch home where she remained for over fifty years. With growing children came the need for new clothes that Carmen sewed and adjusted hand-me-downs from relatives to fit her girls. Heidi Marie was born making triple “alike” outfits a common affair. By the time a couple of the children were in school, she would sew colonial costumes for Henrietta’s Sesquicentennial in 1968, Halloween costumes, and matching square dance outfits for their date nights out. Then along came Eileen, a surprise, but a “perfect” addition to our family.

Carmen began her career as a telephone operator with Rochester Telephone Co. and later worked the switchboards in Sears’ retail store at South Town Plaza and at the Sears office downtown. She retired from Sears MarketPlace after more than thirty years with the company. In her free time, she volunteered as a dispatcher for the Henrietta Ambulance Service and became involved in activities with the West Henrietta Ladies Auxiliary for the fire department. Where her husband was a member, she was always willing to lend a hand. From counting cash on Bingo nights at Guardian Angels Church, planning spaghetti dinners, and organizing raffle events, they started a family catering business called “Honest John’s Catering” after John retired.

Carmen was an artist at heart. She enjoyed oil painting, taking art classes, and joined the Henrietta Art Club. She was very proud of her creative talents and shared her masterpieces by giving them away to those who loved them. She liked to crayon in coloring books, make bead jewelry with her grandchildren, sew doll clothes, and create watercolor still-life images with her Legacy Independent Senior Living neighbors. But this was not all the crafts she liked to do. You could find her crocheting, knitting baby blankets, stitching baby quilts, making book markers with stamps, designing school costumes, and putting makeup on theatrical play participants. She could do it all.

After all her girls grew up, got married and left the house, she traveled to Alaska, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Bryce Canyon, and many other distant places with her friends. One highlight of her life was a trip to a zoo to feed the giraffes. She placed the green leaves on her head and by surprise, without her seeing, one of them ate it off her head. It made her chuckle with joy. She fell in love with giraffes because these gentle giants fascinated her. Everyone who knew her bought giraffe toys, clothing, jewelry, figurines, posters, greeting cards, and so many giraffe theme items that she couldn’t display them all in one place.

Without a doubt, her friends and family will miss her lovely smile, beautiful face, delicious cooking, and infectious laugh.