Iris R. Brock's Obituary
Iris R. Brock, 84, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, November 23 at Good Samaritan Assisted Living, in Silver Spring, MD.
Iris was born Feb 28, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio to Joseph P. Rapposelli and Violet (Aliberti) Rapposelli. She earned her BA at Notre Dame College of Ohio. After graduation, she worked as a reporter for Fairchild Publications and as director of public relations at Marymount Hospital in Cleveland. After marriage she worked as a tutor for students in middle school through graduate school levels, and in the interior design and antiques businesses, both in the Chicago suburbs where she and her husband, Gerald “Jerry” Joseph Brock, lived for 30 years, and in Lewes, where they moved in 1994.
Throughout her life, Iris was an active volunteer with a number of cultural and educational institutions. Chief among these were many years with Campfire Girls of America and the Community Council of International Students of Northwestern University in the Chicago area, and Delaware Association for the Blind, Friends of the Lewes Library, and as a docent for and board member of the Lewes Historical Society after her move to Lewes. She was artistically talented, possessing a keen sense of color and spatial relationships, an able seamstress and pianist, and a knowledgeable opera enthusiast. She enjoyed sharing all of those interests with friends and family.
In addition to her parents, Iris was predeceased by her beloved husband of 47 years, Jerry; and her brother, Harold Rapposelli. She is survived by her loving daughter, Andrea Marie; sisters-in-law Mary “Dede” (Brock) Hall and Nelda (Bishop) Rapposelli; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins; several godchildren; and many grateful students, both in the U.S. and abroad.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, December 12 at 11:00am at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes, DE. Inurnment at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery will take place at a later date. Arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Lewes, DE.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Americans United for Life, 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 525, Arlington, VA 22201 (www.aul.org), or to the Quinlivan Award Fund, Notre Dame College of Ohio, Office of College Advancement, 4545 College Road, South Euclid, OH 44121-4293, Attn. Katherine Callahan.
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FLORIST NOTE: PLEASE DELIVER ALL FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS BY 3PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017 TO OUR LEWES LOCATION.
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