So sorry to hear that about Sara may she rest in peace. Our deepest sympathies to Frank and their families.
Love Marina and Spyros

Rest in eternal peace 🙏

It was an honor to take care of Sara. May she rest in sweet peace. Love and prayers are with all of you.
Margaret from Inglemoor ❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏

My brother, sister, Frank, and I would like to thank everyone for attending my mothers wake and the funeral mass this morning and for their thoughtful prayers & remembrance of our mother.

I’d like to start by saying that my mother did not have a bad bone in her body and anyone who knew my mom throughout her 90 plus years on earth would have only good things to say about her. She was truly loved by her family and friends. To know my mom was to love my mom and she will be sorely missed. In our eyes our mom was a Saint.

My mother Rosaria (Sara) Modafferi was born in 1934 Bangara Italy which is a Province of Reggio Calabria in Southern Italy. Rosaria was the youngest of 5 children of Matteo and Carmela Zuco and her siblings were Maria, Rocco, Concetta, and Teresa. In the 1940’s my grandparents who I am sure loved Italy very much like many other Italian families at that time after the war were looking for a better life and opportunities and that opportunity for my mom and aunt Teresa was America. My grandfather settled in Brooklyn New York with my uncle Rocky and then sent for my grandmother, my aunt Teresa, and my mom. The late 1940’s was extremely difficult for Italian immigrants especially for young women who did not know the English language and had different accents than the American children. The significance of a good education was extremely important to my mom but she decided that working and providing income to her family was more critical at that time. For any young non-educated teenager there were not many working job opportunities and mom chose the garment industry which over the years she became an excellent seamstress working in Manhattan throughout her career and one could only wonder what if my mom would have gotten a higher education, she could have owned her own clothing company, she was that good.

Working was only a means of income for my mother she was an extremely dedicated employee during her working career but her vision and goals were to always make a better life for her children. I was born in December 1958, my brother Matthew in December 1959, and my sister Maria was born in December 1961. Life was not easy for my mom and she had some really rough times especially having to deal with a husband who had issues which eventually led to them to divorce leaving her to raise her 3 children without a father but her love she had for her children, the support of her family, and her belief in God made those rough times bearable. My mother never complained she took life head-on and overcame all obstacles the best she could.

My mother’s priority was that of her children and unlike herself dropping-out of school for her children that was never an option. My mom’s daily routine for many years were;
Waking her children in the morning / making breakfast which for me was an espresso coffee with a shot of vermouth and a biscotti / getting us dressed and seeing that we were off to school then taking the subway to Manhattan working a full day then taking the subway home / cooking and cleaning dinner / Giving us baths and a bedtime snack / then do laundry and other housework leaving her no time for herself. Again mom never complained.

My brother, sister, and I were very fortunate to have a mother who loved us so much that she would sacrifice her own younger years so that we have better opportunities then she had. We did not make it easy for her not that we were bad kids but we would often test her patience and tolerance levels which my mom quickly brought us back to reality as too who was in charge. Boy, I thought I would never miss that wooden spoon but what I would give for just one more whack from my mom. I know that whack would be gentle followed with a hug and a kiss.

Growing-up family was most important to my mother she loved her immediate family especially all her nephews and nieces. We lived on the top floor on Union Street for many years with my aunt, uncle, and cousins which gave my mom comfort to be close to her sister. Between my aunt and my mother we kids tried hard to get over on them but 2 wooden spoons and sometimes their bare hands along with an onslaught of Italian curse words would quickly end any bad behavior. As anyone who grew-up in the same building or within walking distance of their immediate family it was the best years of our lives and the same was true for my mom. I can still visualize my mom kneeling by our top floor window watching all of us playing out-side with a big smile on her face and at the same time watching over us like a mother bear. I can hear her voice as she yelled Sally, Matthew, Maria, come-up its time for dinner.

Besides being an excellent seamstress my mother was a fabulous cook she could prepare an Italian full course meal in no time. Our friends would make sure they stopped by our top floor apartment on Sunday just to eat my mom’s meatballs. Sunday meals with my aunts, uncles, and cousins were a joy for my mom for many years as it was for me, my bother, and sister. As kids we just took those days as having fun but looking back it was a lot of work for my mom and aunt who did all of the cooking, cleaning, and serving which on Sunday was twice a day first in the afternoon for a full meal then in the evening making pizza and another round of a different macaroni dish. For many years my mother even found time to jar pickled olives, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato sauce, luppini’s, and eggplant. You name it and my mom would be able to jar it.

My mom also taught herself how to knit and crochet and she became very good at this skill. Mom spent most of this hobby making booties, gloves, hats, sweaters, and full-size blankets for all of her grandchildren that I am sure the blankets are still being used today which I know is true for Gabrielle, Alexa, Dee & me. Dee and I still unwrap Mr. and Mrs. Claus each Christmas both handmade by mom as a gift for our first Christmas as a married couple.

Mom had a green thumb and loved flowers and plants. She also enjoyed growing her own spices then using them for cooking or giving to her children and friends. Anyone who visited my mom would think they were walking into a shrine with all of saints, statues, flowers, plants, and candles she had scattered around the house.
Throughout my mom’s life she was good at most everything she tried except for driving a car but I give her a lot of credit for studying and passing her driver’s test and getting her driver’s license. Unfortunately, her driving career abruptly ended on Marissa’s front lawn.

For someone who was born by the sea shore my mother was afraid of the ocean except for our trips to Shirley Long Island for a day of picnicking and clamming. Mom would go into the mirky waters knee deep digging her feet into the muddy floor then pick-up her clams. We would then all come home with bushels of clams which my uncle Dominick would divide many of the clams with friends on Union Street. The remaining clams were then given to my aunt and mom who made them raw, baked, over linguini, and clam pizza pies. We would eat in my aunts backyard under a sparkling moon filled with so much love and affection. When dinner was over my mom, aunts, uncles, would find time to dance to Calabrian folk music well into the night. My mom loved and cherished those days.

The only day of the year my mom disliked was the 4th of July not because of the holiday she was extremely patriotic and loved this country but hearing the fireworks from morning to night would stress her out even causing her to pass-out one year. And that can only be blamed on one person who knows who he is. Only kidding although my mother was mad at you that day, she loved you the very next day.

After my mother’s divorce she put her own life on hold until each of her children fell in love and got married. My sister & Eddie got married in 1981, I married to Dee in 1982,and Matthew married Angela in 1983. Then and only then did my mother open her heart to someone and married Frank in 1984.

Mom loved & treated Dee, Eddie, and Angela as her own children and whenever her own children got out of line with our spouses my mother would have no problem scolding us. Less with my sister since Eddie got most of the scolding. And how much my mother loved and adored her 12 grandchildren Gabrielle, Alexa, Lauren, Christina, Vincent, Nicole, Gina, Matthew, Ashley, Isabella, Olivia, and Victoria. Mom welcomed and loved all of grandchildren spouses into the family Phil, Anthony, Rob, Lou, Vinny, Stephanie, Tatum, Luca, and Dustin or as my mom called him Tony changing his name to Italian. Mom was also extremely blessed to have 13 great grandchildren 2 Anthony’s, 3 Vincent’s, Sofia, Ava, Adrianna, Robert, Matteo, Ruby, Louis, Nicholas. Mom also loved and treated her step children as if they were her own children Donna, Maritza, and Paul. I have comfort knowing that we all have our own special memories of mom that will forever be in their hearts.

Mom’s mid years were very good she enjoyed seeing her family grow, having all the holidays by her house, spending weekends at her Monticello summer home with Frank, family and friends, she traveled a lot with Frank including memorable trips to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia and an unforgettable trip with my family to Hawaii. Mom was actively involved with her church for many of her productive years was a member of the Holy Rosary Society and assisted with many of the church functions that included the annual St. Valentine’s dance. I am so glad Dee and I attended many of the church functions not only because we had a great time but it made my mom & Frank happy to see us there but for me and Dee it will always be another cherished memory. Mom loved to dance and sing especially when doing so to all of her grand and great grandchildren. Mom loved traveling to Brooklyn with Frank to visit her sister, but most of all mom was most happy when she spent time with her family cooking for all of the holidays and making trays of cookies for all birthday, baptisms’, confirmation, engagement, and wedding parties. Dam those cookies were good and so were her zeppole’s especially the ones with Alici! Gabrielle and Alexa loved going to see noni especially that noni would give them chocolates and candy and food to take home for the next 5 days of which they always started to eat in the car on the way home.

My mom’s health was not the best in her most recent years but as I stated before she took life as it came. Mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2015 had to endure several rounds of Chemo and Radiation therapy then was pretty much isolated for several years due to Covid restrictions and if her cross was not heavy enough, she was diagnosed with later stages of Alzheimer’s. But again my mom did not complain or utter the words “why me” because her strong faith in God and the love of her family is all she needed.

Dee, Gabrielle, and Alexa would often jokingly call me Father Sal because I do not let things frustrate me and I often turn the other cheek and the reason for that is because I am the son of a Saint.

Mom is now gone and she is finally at peace no more crosses to bear no more pain or suffering to endure. I have extreme comfort and faith that my mother has entered the kingdom of heaven greeted by Jesus, her mom & dad, brother, sisters, and all her departed family and friends. Words cannot express how much I will miss her voice, the touch of her hands, and most of all hearing her say “I love you very very much”
Rest in peace mom and “I will always love you very very much!