In 1998, as this Certificate attests, my mother's name was
immortalized on the
The American Immigrant Wall of Honor® at Ellis Island, NJ.
We are all very proud of my mother:
Ben, my brother, his wife, Barbara and my husband, Henry;
Lucy's six grandaughters: Mimi, Marguerite, Cindy, Patti, Virginia
and Nancy;
Next come her proud great-grandchildren,
Chris, Josiah, Tom, Dana, Marlena and Elisa.
Last and far from least is her namesake,
Lucia Fressola, born to Cindy Fressola and Matt Garber June 4, 2000.
Here's Lucia in her
great-grandmother's arms at her Nonnie's 90th birthday
celebration. 
Mother's Ellis Island Certificate:
[Click here to see detail]
My Mother epitomizes the American Success Story.
Lucy Mary Melino came to America from Italy as a ten year old child and settled in NJ. At 18,
she married my father, James Vincent Fressola, the son of Italian
born parents. While raising my brother Ben and me, she bought
and paid off her own home. Known for her green thumb,
she maintained a garden lush with flowers and fruits and an
Italian fig tree, prized by all of us -- cuttings of which
have borne fruit in NJ, TX, PA, CA and WA.
Throughout the years my talented mother created hundreds of
finely crocheted items and ceramics for her pleasure which adorn many of
our homes. She sewed most of her own clothes and that of her
family's on an old fashioned Singer Treadle sewing machine.
See that gorgeous wedding gown? My mother made it herself!
There's more! My mother
was an accomplished cook and committed hundreds
of recipes to memory -- several of them family
favorites, that we all treasure. This industrious lady achieved all these wonders while working
full time as a skilled factory worker. Since she never drove a car,
she walked miles every day well up into her late 70's.
Still active well into her eighties, she was a well informed,
avid reader. She traveled all over the world.
Lucy Melino Fressola,
who started out as a poor immigrant
was a fiercely
independent, self sufficient American
who never accepted
a penny of charity from anyone.
She died a peaceful death -- after a valiant struggle --
February 15, 2003.
A grievous loss to all.
Here's my big brother Ben and me, circa 1992.
| And, squinting into the sun,
a few years earlier.
|
See some wonderful old pictures of a younger Lucia -- great-grandmother -- at Mimi's web page.
(Mimi Boothby is Lucia's first granddaughter.)
Lucy Melino Fressola is also a
featured
Mother "In Mama's Kitchen"
and Grandmother
Did your parent(s) emigrate to America via Ellis Island? You too, can have their name(s) on
The American Immigrant Wall of Honor®. To learn how
Click here
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![[Click here to see the Bride & Groom up close]](biglucywed.jpg){kind=link}