Brooklyn activist Anna Rotante passes away at 100

On September 15, Anna Rotante passed away after a beautiful life of 100 plus years.

She was a concert operatic singer and entertained at various theaters in the New York area when she met Joe and they got married in 1947. She was also one of the pioneers of the travel industry.

She and her husband, Joseph Rotante in 1950 opened Circle Travel, the first travel agency in Brooklyn making reservations to resort areas and arranging package tours for vacationers. They traveled all over the world and she had a special way of helping Honeymooners decide where to travel to from her experiences, her personality, and honesty.

Her salesmanship helped Circle Travel to grow to three offices serving all of Brooklyn. In the 60’s and 70’s, you couldn’t go to Coney Island and Brighton beaches without seeing a Circle Travel beach bag on a blanket!

Even into the 90’s and beyond, they organized bus tours for seniors and acted as their tour guides, always keeping their guests entertained with songs and games!

Anna Rotante was also active in the community, and founded the first woman’s Kiwanis Club in Marine Park, Brooklyn. Up until this August, she would socialize with other seniors, often singing to them at Waterford assisted living facility in Sheepshead Bay where she was living. Her most popular arias were from “Madame Butterfly” & “La Traviata.”

She is survived by her husband, Joseph, sons John and Mario, daughter-in-laws, Helen and Joanne, and grandchildren, Maria and Matthew.

She was a strong, dynamic woman with music in her heart who touched many and will be missed.

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