Maria Rose Pocorobba Fleres

Maria Rose Pocorobba was born in 1913, to Antonio & Maira Pocorobba, in Brooklyn, NY. She was the second oldest child to be born into a family of 8 children. The children in the family consisted of 5 brothers, Anthony, Vito, Joseph, Jack & John, and the three sisters, Maria, Mamie & Catherine. Maria had to leave school in the 8th. grade, in order to find work in order to help support her large family (10 in all). She became a seamstress, working in a sweat shop, until World War II began. At this point she began making gas masks for the US military forces, until the end of the war.

In 1940, Maria Rose Pocorobba married Angelo Joseph Fleres. The couple were blessed with 3 children, Isabel, born in 1942, Santo, born in 1945 & Anthony, born in 1948. Shortly after being married, the family bought a house in Hollis Queens, NY, where they lived until 1959, then moving out to Merrick, Long Island, NY.