Veronica DiGiacomo, 102, dies
Once, a man fell down in front of Veronica DiGiacomo as she was walking on Jamaica Avenue, near her home in Woodhaven, Queens. Believing the man to be injured, DiGiacomo tried to help him, only to discover later that it was a ruse and he had stolen her purse. "He must have needed the money more than I did," she told her family. "It's OK."
Later in her life, as a centenarian at a Woodbury nursing home, she received a red rose from a 90-year-old suitor. Sensing romantic intent but not wanting to hurt his feelings, she told him, "I think you're a wonderful man, and I'm flattered. But I'm sorry, I just don't date younger men."
DiGiacomo, remembered by family for her kindness and generosity, died April 13 of heart illness at the White Oaks Nursing Home in Woodbury, where she had lived the last six years. She was 102.
Her granddaughter, Lorraine Pappas, 46, of Levittown, said DiGiacomo enjoyed simple pleasures, the company of family and always put others first.
"She'd give you anything, even if it was her last penny," Pappas said. "And she would tell you family is your life. She'd say, 'When you get married, your husband or your wife, that's your family and that's what you take care of.' "
Born in Sicily, she came to Manhattan at 14 to live with and work for a family friend. She met her future husband, Nicholas, when she was 16. They married when she was 18 and first lived in Brooklyn before moving to Woodhaven. Her granddaughter said DiGiacomo lived in Woodhaven for nearly 70 years.
DiGiacomo - or Grandma V to family - was mostly a stay-at-home mother who clung to some European traditions, like shopping every day so meals would have the freshest ingredients, and taking a daily nap.
She is survived by two daughters, Rosemary Pappas of Hauppauge and Joan Cody of Hudson, Mass., 10 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1971.
A service was held April 15 at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown, followed by burial at St. John Cemetery in Middle Village.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
