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January 10, 2017
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Friday, January 13, 2017 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held at 8:30 AM on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from the funeral home, then to Annunciation RC Church, 45 Urban Club Rd., Wayne, where at 9:30 AM, a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Francesca Ortisi, age 88, of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.
Born and raised in the Sicilian city of Siracusa, Italy, she was a resident of Wayne since 1986.
Francesca emigrated to the USA at age 28 with her sister Lidia. They both came here thanks to a work visa for seamstresses through a program affiliated with the U.S. government and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. At the time Paterson was nicknamed “The Silk City” because of the many garment and textile factories that were established there. Francesca and Lidia’s first jobs were as seamstresses in one of those factories and their first home was in the church’s monastery with other Italian immigrants who came before them.
In the summer times, the silk factories got to be too hot to work in, so they customarily closed for three months. Francesca and Lidia took advantage of this forced time off by returning to Italy to be reunited with family. During those short ninety days Francesca not only managed to find the love of her life in the likes of a handsome man named Gaetano Ortisi, she also married him on November 13, 1958. At the end of those three months, she returned by herself to her work in America, not only married but also pregnant with her firstborn. A year later, when her husband Gaetano was able to get his immigration paperwork in order, he joined his beautiful bride and had the pleasure of meeting his newborn son Salvatore for the first time. Her family has always looked up to Francesca and her sister Lidia for their role in providing a gateway to America for their parents and siblings who were able to come here too, due to their courage and perseverance in getting established in this new country.
Francesca loved to cook and family favorite recipes included her home-made lasagna and other pasta dishes. She was also an amazing baker so you could always count on the ‘biscotti’ jar in the house being full. Her kid’s favorites were her delicious lady fingers and various holiday desserts. She loved being a homemaker and her house was so impeccably clean, you literally could eat off the floor – a high standard of cleanliness and order that she maintained right on up until the time of her passing.
When her kids were young, Francesca and Gaetano would traditionally join with their siblings and their cousins for a vacation altogether down the Jersey Shore in Wildwood Crest. They would all rent adjoining rooms at the Bel Air Motel on Ocean Avenue and just have a great time together. Francesca’s children have fond memories of playing with their cousins, recalling how all the men stayed in one room and all the ladies in another, how all the men went to the fish market and how the women would prepare these great seafood feasts that they’d all enjoy for several nights during that vacation week. On a grander scale, she also enjoyed trips back to Italy as well as the Grand Canyon, California and a couple of vacations to Florida’s Disney World with her daughter Cettina and her two boys. A highlight while visiting California occurred when Francesca’s husband Guy was unexpectedly invited up on stage by famous actor Ray Romano during a taping of that late 1990’s, mid 2000’s sitcom “Everyone Loves Raymond”. While it didn’t completely mirror their own lives, they used to love that show because they could relate to the whole premise of an Italian family doing life together. Francesca was also a huge fan of the original I Love Lucy and Carol Burnett variety show.
Francesca was a woman of great faith. She faithfully prayed the rosary every day and always did her best to make it to church until older age would no longer allow. She was a faithful parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church in Lincoln Park during her and Gaetano’s years living there from 1977 to 1986. Then when the family moved to Wayne, she joined the fellowship of the parish community at Annunciation Church. Her faith was a true blessing to her when her beloved husband Gaetano passed away unexpectedly in 1998 at the age of 66.
Francesca’s family give thanks for her life. They will miss her dearly but will always cherish heartfelt memories of her genuine loving care and devotion.
Surviving are Francesca’s two dear sons and one dear daughter: Salvatore Ortisi of Sweden, Concetta Ortisi of Wayne, and Frank and wife Lisa Ortisi of Wayne; four cherished grandchildren: Michael, Marc, Alexandra and Nicholas; and one brother and one sister: Anthony and wife Concetta D’Amico of Wayne, and Lidia and husband Orazio Cipriani of Maryland. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Gaetano in 1998, and two brothers: Giuseppe D’Amico and Sebastiano D’Amico.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Francesca’s name are asked to consider Annunciation RC Church, 45 Urban Club Road, Wayne, NJ 07470, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (www.stjude.org).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Friday, January 13, 2017 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held at 8:30 AM on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from the funeral home, then to Annunciation RC Church, 45 Urban Club Rd., Wayne, where at 9:30 AM, a Funeral Mass will be offered.
January 10, 2017
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Friday, January 13, 2017 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held at 8:30 AM on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from the funeral home, then to Annunciation RC Church, 45 Urban Club Rd., Wayne, where at 9:30 AM, a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Francesca Ortisi, age 88, of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.
Born and raised in the Sicilian city of Siracusa, Italy, she was a resident of Wayne since 1986.
Francesca emigrated to the USA at age 28 with her sister Lidia. They both came here thanks to a work visa for seamstresses through a program affiliated with the U.S. government and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. At the time Paterson was nicknamed “The Silk City” because of the many garment and textile factories that were established there. Francesca and Lidia’s first jobs were as seamstresses in one of those factories and their first home was in the church’s monastery with other Italian immigrants who came before them.
In the summer times, the silk factories got to be too hot to work in, so they customarily closed for three months. Francesca and Lidia took advantage of this forced time off by returning to Italy to be reunited with family. During those short ninety days Francesca not only managed to find the love of her life in the likes of a handsome man named Gaetano Ortisi, she also married him on November 13, 1958. At the end of those three months, she returned by herself to her work in America, not only married but also pregnant with her firstborn. A year later, when her husband Gaetano was able to get his immigration paperwork in order, he joined his beautiful bride and had the pleasure of meeting his newborn son Salvatore for the first time. Her family has always looked up to Francesca and her sister Lidia for their role in providing a gateway to America for their parents and siblings who were able to come here too, due to their courage and perseverance in getting established in this new country.
Francesca loved to cook and family favorite recipes included her home-made lasagna and other pasta dishes. She was also an amazing baker so you could always count on the ‘biscotti’ jar in the house being full. Her kid’s favorites were her delicious lady fingers and various holiday desserts. She loved being a homemaker and her house was so impeccably clean, you literally could eat off the floor – a high standard of cleanliness and order that she maintained right on up until the time of her passing.
When her kids were young, Francesca and Gaetano would traditionally join with their siblings and their cousins for a vacation altogether down the Jersey Shore in Wildwood Crest. They would all rent adjoining rooms at the Bel Air Motel on Ocean Avenue and just have a great time together. Francesca’s children have fond memories of playing with their cousins, recalling how all the men stayed in one room and all the ladies in another, how all the men went to the fish market and how the women would prepare these great seafood feasts that they’d all enjoy for several nights during that vacation week. On a grander scale, she also enjoyed trips back to Italy as well as the Grand Canyon, California and a couple of vacations to Florida’s Disney World with her daughter Cettina and her two boys. A highlight while visiting California occurred when Francesca’s husband Guy was unexpectedly invited up on stage by famous actor Ray Romano during a taping of that late 1990’s, mid 2000’s sitcom “Everyone Loves Raymond”. While it didn’t completely mirror their own lives, they used to love that show because they could relate to the whole premise of an Italian family doing life together. Francesca was also a huge fan of the original I Love Lucy and Carol Burnett variety show.
Francesca was a woman of great faith. She faithfully prayed the rosary every day and always did her best to make it to church until older age would no longer allow. She was a faithful parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church in Lincoln Park during her and Gaetano’s years living there from 1977 to 1986. Then when the family moved to Wayne, she joined the fellowship of the parish community at Annunciation Church. Her faith was a true blessing to her when her beloved husband Gaetano passed away unexpectedly in 1998 at the age of 66.
Francesca’s family give thanks for her life. They will miss her dearly but will always cherish heartfelt memories of her genuine loving care and devotion.
Surviving are Francesca’s two dear sons and one dear daughter: Salvatore Ortisi of Sweden, Concetta Ortisi of Wayne, and Frank and wife Lisa Ortisi of Wayne; four cherished grandchildren: Michael, Marc, Alexandra and Nicholas; and one brother and one sister: Anthony and wife Concetta D’Amico of Wayne, and Lidia and husband Orazio Cipriani of Maryland. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Gaetano in 1998, and two brothers: Giuseppe D’Amico and Sebastiano D’Amico.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Francesca’s name are asked to consider Annunciation RC Church, 45 Urban Club Road, Wayne, NJ 07470, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (www.stjude.org).
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