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Anna Angelini, 105, recently moved to St. James Manor & Villas in Crete. Anna's granddaughter, Sue Carman of Homewood, recalls the many happy times spent at her grandma's house. December was an especially memorable month with a three-day celebration that began with her grandmother's birthday on the 23rd and continued until very late Christmas night. Today, Anna's family has grown to include four children, 16 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 21 great-great grandchildren. Pictured here are five generations of the family. Shown in the back row, from left, are Norma Hensley of Steger, daughter; and Amy Widule of Monee, great-granddaughter. Shown in the front row, from left, are Joseph Widule, 9, of Monee, great-great-grandson; Anna Angelini, Sue Carman of Homewood, granddaughter; and Abigail Widule, 3, of Monee, great-great-granddaughter. images courtesy of the Angelini family
Legacy of love  Share
At 105, Anna Angelini has lived through more in her life than most people can imagine Ð two World Wars, the Great Depression, the introduction of the telephone, television and personal computer into homes across the United States, and much more. Recently, while visiting with family members at St. James Manor & Villas in Crete, where she moved to in April, Anna shared a few memories of the long life that she has lived. Prior to moving into St. James, she lived with family members. Although she has some problems with her hearing, her mind is as clear as a person half her age and she easily recalls the events of her life. Born on Dec. 23, 1903 to Italian immigrant parents, Salvador and Rose Marinucci, her earliest memories are of attending grade school at Garfield School on 23rd Street in Chicago Heights. After fourth grade she left school and spent time helping at home and with the family business. Her parents owned a tavern, Marinucci's, in Chicago Heights. What did she do at the tavern?
''I served beer,'' she quickly responded. It was at Marinucci's that she met her future husband, Carlos Angelini, who had arrived from Italy. Initially, she turned him down for a date, but eventually relented and the couple married on Nov. 12, 1922. They settled in a house in Chicago Heights and she was soon raising a family and taking care of her home while her husband worked at Inland Steel in Chicago Heights. Her domestic skills came in handy during the Great Depression. She'd take in laundry and sewing for others, a practice that she kept up after losing her husband to leukemia on St. Patrick's Day in 1933. At the time she had four children, ranging in age from 10 months to 9 years. She would never remarry. In 1941, her oldest son, Ray, left to fight in World War II. With many of the men serving in the war, the factories encouraged women to join the workforce during their absence. Anna began working at Flintkote in Chicago Heights where she packed nails for five or six years. ''When the guys came back from the service, we came back home,'' she said. ''Women didn't work in those days.'' When her children were older, Anna worked at Illinois Shade factory and later at a little diner on Halsted St. in Chicago Heights, where she cooked. Recalling her salary at the diner during the 50s, she said, ''I made a dollar an hour.'' For the most part, she supported her children by doing laundry and sewing for other people. She specialized in Italian cutwork, a type of embroidery in which pieces of the foundation fabric are cut away, creating a network of holes and eyelets which are accented by the embroidery pattern. ''My mother did beautiful Italian cutwork,'' said Anna's daughter, Norma Hensley of Steger. Norma said that her mother was always a ''home body.'' She enjoyed cooking, crocheting, sewing and spending time with her family. She never learned to drive. Norma remembers coming home for lunch during the school year and her mother would always have lunch ready. Often, Norma would bring along a friend. ''We were a real close-knit family,'' Norma said. The family has grown to include many more members. Along with her four children, Anna has 16 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 21 great-great-grandchildren. One of her granddaughters, Sue Carman of Homewood, also shared a few memories of times spent at Anna's home. She remembers building forts and playing hide-n-seek under a big table at her grandma's house. Her grandmother would always make pizza frittas, a snack made by frying bread dough. Laughing, she recalled another treat that may not sound appetizing, but was delicious nonetheless. Grandma would stir an egg yolk with a little sugar and she'd drink it raw. ''We loved going to grandma's house,'' Sue said. She remembers December as being a particularly exciting month with a three-day celebration, beginning on the 23rd, with her grandmother's birthday, and ending in the wee hours of the night on the 25th. Grandma would always make her dinners ''from scratch.'' On Christmas Eve they'd have a traditional fish dinner. An uncle would wear a Santa suit and make his appearance to the delight of the children. ''I don't think we were ever home before 1 or 2 in the morning,'' Sue said. Time passed quickly at the large family gatherings, enjoying the time with grandma and other loved ones and building memories that will last a lifetime - memories of the love shared, the laughter and the good times. It is a legacy of love that Anna will leave to the generations that follow her. Lynn Dill is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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