Marisa Alfano

Marisa Alfano, 65 of Oakton, Virginia passed away on July 19, 2025 surrounded by family and close friends.

Marisa was born on December 11, 1959, in Elizabeth, NJ to a loving mother, Catherine Jeanne Alfano. She graduated from Battin High School in 1977. She attended the Cittone School of Court Reporting and then passed the National Court Reporting Test to become a certified court reporter. Marisa’s career as a Court Reporter working in both the federal and states courts and as a Paralegal spanned over 40 years. Marisa last worked as a Senior Paralegal for Morgan Lewis law firm in Washington, D.C.

Marisa lived in New England for nearly two decades. She loved New Hampshire and the beauty of its four seasons. She met her husband Richard Gray in New Hampshire in 1994, resulting in a 31-years long love story. She and Richard enjoyed Red Sox games at Fenway Park, camping in the White Mountains, skiing at Loon Mountain and Mt. Sunapee and hiking and biking some of the many trails New Hampshire has to offer. In early 2000 she moved with Richard back to Richard’s home state of Virginia where they resided in Northern Virginia. They married in 2003 and never looked back. They enjoyed traveling ,including two trips to the U.K, spending time in London, the Cotswolds, Calais and many other famous towns including Stratford-Upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born. They traveled to Scotland to see the Loch Ness Monster (alas, Nellie was not to be seen), to St. Andrews where golf is said to have started and part of the movie Chariots of Fire was filmed, and several distilleries where the Scots make some of the finest whiskey in the world. They traveled to Hawaii, snorkeling on the Big Island with sea turtles and viewed Kilauea volcano while it was glowing red in the night sky. They also visited a number of the U.S. states that were on Marisa’s bucket list, as it was her objective to visit all 50 states – she made it to 42 of them. In her honor, her family will visit the remaining states.

Marisa was predeceased by her son Antonio Joshua Groia-Gillman and her mother Catherine Alfano. She is survived by her husband Richard Gray; her brother Steven Alfano and sister-in-law, Kelly LoGiudice-Alfano; stepchildren Tyler, Jonathan and Jessica along with extended family members and lifelong friends that made up her world.

Marisa thrived entertaining her family and friends with multi-course entirely hand made dinners. Her ability to amaze them with her culinary skills was legendary and a meal not to be missed. When she wasn’t making gourmet meals in her kitchen she loved exploring new dining experiences. She loved her five cats, Richard Parker, Petra Tanya Komarova, George Bailey (“Bailey Boy”), Phillip Pirrip (“Pip”) and Nicholas Nickleby (“Nicky”). She spent a lot of time in the garden nurturing it and planting flowers and herbs. Over time, Richard and Marisa crafted their backyard into a peaceful English Garden oasis.

She was a kind and thoughtful woman who touched the lives of many. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the National Capital Treatment & Recovery Center (formerly Phoenix House), Arlington, VA. https://www.natcaptreatment.org/

Services will be held at Emmanual Lutheran Church, 2589 Chain Bridge Rd., Vienna, VA 22181 at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 9, 2025.