Anna M. Santella

Mom was born Anna M. De Domenico on July 12th, 1915 in Buffalo, New York to 22 year old Giovanni De Domenico and 25 year old Tomasina (Capritta was her maiden name). On the birth certificate it said both her mother and father were born in Italy. Her father was a tailor and her mother was a housewife. Anna had a brother, Louis, who was 2 years older and a brother, Frankie, who was 3 years younger. The family lived at 112 Dante Place in Buffalo, New York. Grandma De Domenico came from Italy with Giovanni and Tomasina. Grandma owned a neighborhood grocery store and lived above the store. Mom said she was very close to her ""Nona"" and learned a lot from her, but she also said she was very stern. When Ann was very young, her parents divorced and her mom moved to Youngstown, Ohio. Mom loved her mother, but her bonds were to her father ""Pa Pa,"" her brother and her grandmother. Her younger brother died as a toddler of phenomena. Within a short time, Anna's father remarried a woman named Concetta from Italy and mom grew to love her very much. As mom grew older, she quickly realized she had a passion for music and fashion. School was not her cup of tea and when she was 17 years old, she went with a girlfriend to New York City to become a ""famous singer."" She quickly learned being attractive and shapely was as much a problem as a blessing. As a single young girl alone in New York trying to break into a tough business was a real struggle. She did, however, start her singing career in New York City with some of the big bands of that era. Mom lived in a cold water flat paying $9.00 a week rent. She told stories of warming soup on the heat registers. She also had a part time job in the Smith's Clothing Store. My dad, who worked in a gas station nearby, noticed her walking back and forth to work. As you might imagine, the courting started. My mom told my dad (all the way to the wedding isle) that she was not getting married, because she was there to start a singing career. I guess that career was not that important because mom and dad were married December 27th, 1935 when mom was 20 years old. Mom and Dad moved to Detroit, Michigan where they spent their lives together. Dad took a full time job with the Ford Motor Company until he retired on March 1st, 1974, and always maintained a second business on his own. Mom was a homemaker most of her life raising my sister Barbara, my brother Thomas and myself. As a baby I contracted Polio during the Polio epidemic. My mother worked tirelessly massaging and exercising my leg muscles and they also sought out cutting edge surgery to correct the physical damage Polio had caused. I was blessed with their non-stop efforts. As a result I was left with very little residual damage, which would not have happened without them, for this I am so grateful. In addition to being a loving mother, she ran our home including all the cooking, cleaning, painting and lawn work. She did not drive until she was 60 years old. As a team they built a wonderful life for all of us. We got everything we needed and much more. We were educated and given many great experiences. I suppose you could say we were spoiled ""Slightly!"" We spent most of our time doing things as a family and traveling to visit all our relatives. Both mom and dad came from large families scattered all over the U.S. Like all good Italian families, it was all about family and food. Our dad died on September 22nd, 1975 at age 63. My mom spent the next 37 years as his widow. Mom was very loyal and never remarried, although, she certainly could have. She enjoyed her home, children and grandchildren. She was very independent and content in her activities. When mom was 89 years old (2004), we convinced her to move to Colorado and I loved having her near us. We went on many trips with her including Hawaii and included her in almost everything we did. Mom ended up living with us. She would go to Skycliff Day Center a few days a week, while we worked. She loved it there and she loved being in Colorado. Almost every day mom would comment when we were in the car ""Colorado sure has a lot of land,"" or ""I've never seen such blue skies as I have here."" Mom was a real spark in all our lives and so wanted to make it to age 100. Sadly that did not happen but at 97 1/2 she got pretty darn close. Those that knew her will really miss that 4'8"" 100 pound Italian spit fire. I know I will love her and miss her everyday. Story told by Ann's daughter, Toni. FOR OUR GRANDMOTHER Anna Santella, known as Grandma Anne to us, lived a long and full life to 97 and ½. She had 3 children, 6 grandchildren, one who passed away in infancy, and 4 great-grandchildren. She was tirelessly committed to family through thick and thin. And there was, some Thin. She survived through the great depression, helped cure a daughter and husband who contracted polio during the polio epidemic, watched her son go off to war, and smiled through her husband's many great business adventures. When asked at age 62, after being widowed at a young age, why she never remarried, her response was, ""I am married"". She was Loyal to her faith, her family and her Italian Heritage. She always spoke highly of her father, with respect in her voice, and love in her eye. Every time she met someone new, the first thing she would ask is if they were Italian. If not - then she wanted to know their ancestry. If they didn't know - they would get an earful about how important it was to be proud of your heritage. If they didn't have one - she would invite them to be an honorary Italian. She was faithful to the Catholic Church and her belief in God. Even if you weren't catholic, as long as you believed in God, you could be Catholic in her book. She could speak Italian, but you only knew it when she was mad. She wielded her wooden cooking spoon like a weapon, but never actually made contact. She had her own vocabulary that was a unique mix between English and Italian like: mopina, Madonda-mia, stuta-zeet, and good night was, Nina Nona. You had to know her well to understand these Anna-isms. This was also a way to keep her business private. It was important to her to look good and behave properly. She was always impeccably dressed. As the daughter of a tailor, she wore clothes that modestly showed off her beautiful figure and was always accessorized perfectly. She loved music and could ACTUALLY sing. A talent, she was NOT kind of enough to pass on to her grandkids. She was determined and self-sufficient. Even in a day when it wasn't normal for a young girl to travel alone, at 11, Anna decided she wanted to return to live with her father, so she hitchhiked from Youngstown Ohio to Buffalo NY. Then when forced to return home she did so by bus, ALONE. A few years later as ""quote"" - an adult – at age 17, she traveled by bus across the U.S. to pursue her dream of singing on stage in N.Y. She had a brief singing career with the Tommy Dorsey band. That ended sooner than she had expected when she met her husband, Louis, known to most, as Bibby. Growing up, her Grandma was HER mentor and she spent much of her youth helping around the family-owned grocery store. At age 6, Anna could drive the wagon, pulled by their horse Nelly, to the meat market to pick up supplies for the store and she could make change for the customers. Being small and short in stature, at 5' 2"" and 100 pounds, didn't stop her from doing things on her own. She was very strong both physically and mentally. When Barbara, her oldest daughter, was 7, they lived above their grocery store. While playing in the unfinished attic, Barb fell down an open Stove pipe. Anna climbed down the stove pipe and got her out. When her husband contracted polio in his neck she refused to take him to the doctor because she didn't want him quarantined. So she quarantined him herself, in her home. She would put hot towels on his neck to draw out the polio, then would bathe in Lysol, to keep from spreading the disease to her 3 children. After her husband, Bibby, passed away she was determined to care for things herself including: painting her house, mowing her law, fixing her roof, refinishing a floor, and even learned to drive at age 60. She loved cooking for the entire family and most memorable was her Italian Christmas feasts AND her Famous Italian sauce. At 85 she was painting the outside of her home and locked herself out. She asked a neighbor to borrow a ladder. Though he offered to climb up to the open window, she Politely, but FIRMLY, declined, explaining that she just washed her curtains and knew she could fit through the window without dirtying them. So she climbed to the top of her 2-story home and shimmied through the window herself. She wanted to pass down these strengths to her kids and grandkids. We ALL wanted her to pass down her Italian sauce recipe. When she broke her hip the doctors said, THEN, there was a good chance she wouldn't recover. That was 5 ½ years ago. Just this past October her heart threatened to give out. Father Brad came to give her last rights. When he was preparing her for her journey, she politely said, ""Thank you, but I'm not going to be ready to go for a long time"". Father told her that she was prepared, whenever, she was ready to start her journey. She said, again, ""Thank you, but I'm not going anywhere"". Her strength got her to 97 and ½, her beauty and talent opened doors to adventures at a young age, her determination got her through the trials of life, her loyalty kept her family close and committed, and her faith allowed her to pass in peace. We hope these traits have been passed on to those of us who love her and we are ecstatic she left us with so many great memories. And who knows - Down the generations - Maybe someone again – Will be able to sing. We love you Grandma! Visitation was held on Friday, November 30, 2012 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm followed by a Recitation of the Rosary at 7:00pm at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, 2746 Fifth Street in Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. A Funeral Mass was held on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 11:00am also at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, 2746 Fifth Street in Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. The family invites everyone to join them for a Reception following the Funeral Mass at the church. Memorial contributions may be made in Anna's name to Sky Cliff Center, 4600 East Highway 86 in Castle Rock, Colorado 80104.