Rosemary Scala

Rosemary Scala was born on June 11, 1928, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Walter and Rose Marie (Hickey) Durnan. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, she worked for several years in a chemical laboratory. She married Luciano Scala of Bologna, Italy, in 1951. Two years later they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Luciano’s work, eventually settling in Murrysville. After developing macular degeneration in her early 20s, Rosemary used vision assistive technology to lead a full and active life. She raised a large family and dedicated much of her time over the following seven decades to volunteering for organizations such as Bookmobile, Franklin Regional Adult School, Meals on Wheels, Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, the local Republican committee and Symphony East. She was also active at Mother of Sorrows Church, including as a Sunday school teacher for several years. She enjoyed sailing, cross-country skiing and swimming, and was known for her culinary skills. Widely read and classically educated, Rosemary enjoyed wordplay and had a passion for both solving and constructing standard and cryptic crossword puzzles. A lover of travel, she traced her ancestors’ roots in Ireland and enjoyed trips to Italy as well as France, Spain and Switzerland. Rosemary spent the final three years of her life in a Catholic assisted-living community in Baltimore, where she was close to various family members. She was predeceased by her husband, Luciano; her sister, Ruth Johnson; her brother, Vincent Durnan; and her granddaughter Casey Scala.

She will be lovingly remembered by her seven children, Peter (Rose) of Fairfax, VA; Claudia Moy (Cliff) of Rockville, MD; Mark (Vicki) of Nashville, TN; Robert (Ellen), of Waterford, CT; Francesca Robison (Steven, d. 2012) of West Chester, PA; Nina (Brian Tetreault) of Baltimore, MD; and Christopher (Amy Ho Tai) of Lausanne, Switzerland; 12 grandchildren, Matthew, Melanie, Vincent, Graham, Joseph, Christopher, Evan, Ellie, Jack, Lia, Charles and Lola; and three great-grandchildren, Oliver, Isaac and Miles. 

A funeral mass will be held at Mother of Sorrows Church in Murrysville on April 7, 2026, at 12:30pm. If you wish to honor Rosemary’s memory, her family asks that, in lieu of flowers, you make a donation in her name to Catholic Charities or Murrysville Meals-On-Wheels. To read more about Rosemary’s remarkable life, visit Legacy.com and enter her name.