Carolyn DeFrancesco

Carolyn DeFrancesco, age 70, of Drexel Hill, passed away peacefully on April 25, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.

Born on July 8, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the beloved daughter of Don and Rosemary Burgoon. She was a devoted wife to Gerry DeFrancesco, a loving mother to Katie Reinhardt (Bill Reinhardt), Gerry DeFrancesco (Natalie DeFrancesco), and a cherished grandmother to Sophie, Brady, Christian, Charlotte, and Damian. She is also survived by her sisters, Sharon Kewer and Lisa Alessi, and her brothers Don Burgoon and Denny Burgoon, who will continue to honor her legacy.

Carolyn was known for her energy, strength, faith, sense of humor, and lightheartedness. She dedicated her life to family, faith, and the St. Pius X School community where she worked first as a volunteer and then as a preschool teacher and summer camp instructor. Carolyn volunteered as a lunch monitor when Katie and Gerry were students at St. Pius.  Years later, she began working at St. Pius as a summer camp instructor, offering the famous “Kids in the Kitchen” camp which sold out in minutes every year! In 2017, Carolyn told Katie she thought she may have missed her calling to work with children. Ironically, the timing worked well as St. Pius was looking to hire a teacher for the Mom’s Morning Out program.  She stepped in as the lead teacher and never looked back!  She even got to have her granddaughter, Charlotte, in her first class.  She found such profound joy in her job, working with children, and loved her time with her coworkers, the “Kelly Center Girls.” 

She met the love of her life, Gerry, at Mass at St. Denis Church, beginning a marriage filled with love, commitment, faith, and adventure.  As Gerry’s career led them to different places, she embraced each new chapter with an open heart and mind, quickly making friends wherever they went.  She never missed a chance to soak up the sun at the nearest beach, always finding joy in life’s simple pleasures. 

Her favorite place to vacation was Ocean City, New Jersey with her entire family together enjoying picnics on the beach, Manco and Manco Pizza, and playing the booth games at Playland.  She had a wonderfully competitive spirit.  She loved to win and let’s just say, she preferred not to practice losing!  She approached every challenge with one goal: victory, whether it was at the Reinhardt Annual Chili Cook-Off, Christmas Eve games, Pumpkin Decorating Contests, baking opportunities, Lottery Tickets (“scratchies”) or Water Gun Races.  And if victory didn’t happen, we all knew it was clearly a ‘learning experience’ for the rest of us. 

She also treasured her sister lunches, where the laughter was endless and the stories grew better with every retelling. 

Her presence brought comfort and light to those around her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Don and Rosemary Burgoon, her sister, Rosemary Kolmus, and her brother, David Burgoon.

A Private Service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to St. Pius X Building the Future Brick by Brick Contribution.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude for the prayers, love, and support received during this time.

She will be deeply missed and forever loved. She is at peace. She is whole. And she is still with us always. 

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