Obituary of Virginia V. LaCara

If there were a hall of fame for devoted moms, Virginia LaCara would be among the charter members.

The house in Irondequoit that Vinnie and Len LaCara built was full of laughter and love. And food. So much food. Her Thanksgiving dinners were legendary. Her Sunday sauce was so good, she served it twice a week. It was the place their sons Len and Sam brought their friends to hang out.

How devoted was she? Vinnie talked her husband into sending their sons on a high school band trip to Europe. She joined them in marching outside their house in a mock protest, chanting, “We want a pool!” Len Sr. never had a chance. That pool was the centerpiece of multiple family gatherings, and even some backyard weddings.

Woe unto anyone who called out her journalist son in a letter to the editor. Performers at high schools, colleges, community theaters and clubs in three states knew her by name, because Vinnie and Len were always there for their children and grandchildren.

Vinnie was as much an artist as she was a mother. She painted and made macramé plant hangers for friends and family. But she excelled in silk floral arrangements. During her decades at Dan’s Crafts & Things, she contributed beauty and elegance to hundreds of weddings.

She helped organize multiple fundraisers to help a sister pay for a lung transplant. When family members needed a place to live, she provided it.

As the years progressed, dementia took its toll. Virginia lived her final years at The Friendly Home, where she passed away unexpectedly on February 9, 2025, surrounded by the family she loved so much. She was 85 years old.

Virginia LaCara was born October 25, 1939, to Mary Grace and Salvatore Pecorella. She married Leonard LaCara on November 7, 1959. He preceded her in death on January 19, 2023, after 63 years of marriage.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Leonard LaCara Jr. and Denise Duellman; daughter-in-law Rachel (Rob) LaCara-Randall; grandchildren Peter (Carolyn), Andrew (Meghan), Laura and Miriam LaCara and Xavia Schulik; great-grandchildren Aubrielle, Evelyn and Lillian LaCara; dear sisters and brothers-in-law, Paula and Eugene Short and Regina and Raymond Wahl; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, she is preceded in death by her son Salvatore LaCara, her parents and siblings JoAnne Perna and Leonard Pecorella.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 15, 2025, at St. Ambrose Church. Inurnment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Calling hours will be held one hour prior to services at the church.

We are deeply grateful to Morgan Place at The Friendly Home and Rochester Regional Health Hospice Care for the care Virginia received in her final years, and to the aides from Home Instead who assisted her before and during the pandemic.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association or another charity of your choice.