Obituary for Marie Scali
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Marie Scali (born Gemma Teresa Maria Baldari) was born in 1918 in the town of Stilo in the province of Reggio Calabria, Italy, the 2nd child of Alfonsina and Vincenzo Baldari. Marie came to America when she was 11 years old and she and her family settled in Brooklyn where her father worked as a shoe maker. When she was a teenager she worked in the garment trade doing “piece work” at home and later at a powder puff factory in Manhattan to help support her family during the height of the Great Depression. She met and married Vincenzo Carmelo (“James” or “Jimmy”) Scali in 1936 in Brooklyn when she was 18 and they had 5 children: Philip, Rose Marie [Cutrone], Janet [Santoro], Susan [Carpanzano] and Lorraine [Fontana]. She was a devoted wife and mother and cared for her family as well as her extended family all her life. She and Jimmy moved to New Rochelle in 1949. Marie was a phenomenal cook and homemaker and always made Sundays and every holiday special. She loved her family above all and enjoyed getting everyone together. She enjoyed her husband’s success as a custom tailor in New York, until he passed away in 1977--when she was 59. She grieved for many years, but found a way to fill her life again. She took in students as borders in her home, she made many new friends on her own, and joined up with various social groups that would go to dances and on trips together. She moved to Harrison in 1983 where she had already established a close group of friends. She joined the Harrison Senior Center where she would play cards, bingo, make new friends, and socialize with her old friends She volunteered at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Harrison Meals on Wheels program, delivering food to the elderly and disabled. She loved to have fun, loved to dance, and being with people was her favorite pastime. She enjoyed getting dressed up for special occasions and always looked impeccable every day of her life. In 1994 she met Ralph DeMaio at a seniors dance and they remained companions until Ralph passed away in 2013. Marie is predeceased by her 5 siblings: Joseph Baldari, George Baldari, Anthony Baldari, Vincenza (“Vinnie”) Guerrera, and Sylvia Scali as well as her beloved daughter, Rose Marie Cutrone, and her sons in law, Felix Cutrone and Michael Carpanzano. Marie’s strength and will to carry on despite the loss of so many loved ones, as well as ultimately her own physical and mental abilities, speaks volumes as to who she was. She had a heart of gold and a will of iron. She lived for love and loved to live. God rest her soul. She is in heaven now with all her family and friends who’ve gone before her, welcoming her with open arms, and maybe a shuffled deck of cards.
**IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE SCALI FAMILY IS REQUESTING THAT DONATIONS BE MADE IN MARIES HONOR TOE THE HARRISON EMS.**
Marie Scali (born Gemma Teresa Maria Baldari) was born in 1918 in the town of Stilo in the province of Reggio Calabria, Italy, the 2nd child of Alfonsina and Vincenzo Baldari. Marie came to America when she was 11 years old and she and her family settled in Brooklyn where her father worked as a shoe maker. When she was a teenager she worked in the garment trade doing “piece work” at home and later at a powder puff factory in Manhattan to help support her family during the height of the Great Depression. She met and married Vincenzo Carmelo (“James” or “Jimmy”) Scali in 1936 in Brooklyn when she was 18 and they had 5 children: Philip, Rose Marie [Cutrone], Janet [Santoro], Susan [Carpanzano] and Lorraine [Fontana]. She was a devoted wife and mother and cared for her family as well as her extended family all her life. She and Jimmy moved to New Rochelle in 1949. Marie was a phenomenal cook and homemaker and always made Sundays and every holiday special. She loved her family above all and enjoyed getting everyone together. She enjoyed her husband’s success as a custom tailor in New York, until he passed away in 1977--when she was 59. She grieved for many years, but found a way to fill her life again. She took in students as borders in her home, she made many new friends on her own, and joined up with various social groups that would go to dances and on trips together. She moved to Harrison in 1983 where she had already established a close group of friends. She joined the Harrison Senior Center where she would play cards, bingo, make new friends, and socialize with her old friends She volunteered at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Harrison Meals on Wheels program, delivering food to the elderly and disabled. She loved to have fun, loved to dance, and being with people was her favorite pastime. She enjoyed getting dressed up for special occasions and always looked impeccable every day of her life. In 1994 she met Ralph DeMaio at a seniors dance and they remained companions until Ralph passed away in 2013. Marie is predeceased by her 5 siblings: Joseph Baldari, George Baldari, Anthony Baldari, Vincenza (“Vinnie”) Guerrera, and Sylvia Scali as well as her beloved daughter, Rose Marie Cutrone, and her sons in law, Felix Cutrone and Michael Carpanzano. Marie’s strength and will to carry on despite the loss of so many loved ones, as well as ultimately her own physical and mental abilities, speaks volumes as to who she was. She had a heart of gold and a will of iron. She lived for love and loved to live. God rest her soul. She is in heaven now with all her family and friends who’ve gone before her, welcoming her with open arms, and maybe a shuffled deck of cards.
**IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE SCALI FAMILY IS REQUESTING THAT DONATIONS BE MADE IN MARIES HONOR TOE THE HARRISON EMS.**