Marion Ruth Vaughn Fera

Marion was born on August 26, 1918 to Walter C. Vaughn and Sarah J. Donahue. At the age of twenty-two on June 22, 1940 she married the love of her life, Edward Rudolph Fera in Providence, Rhode Island. Marion and Eddie relished being together. They loved dancing, taking in a movie, and dining out. On any given Saturday night, they often would be found at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet or Rocky Point Palladium. It was this bond and commitment to each other that made their marriage a true partnership. While Eddie worked to start what went on to be known as Sage Manufacturing, a jewelry findings business, in the garage behind their home, Marion embraced the role of homemaker and mother to three daughters.

Marion loved to spend time as a family. She cherished Sunday outings to Roger Williams Park and the Old Canteen, yearly trips to Maine and Florida, and hosting parties for family and friends. Marion also appreciated the classic music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett. She would often be heard humming songs – sometimes in tune and other times not!

When Edward died at the age of fifty-five on August 24, 1972 after a battle with cancer, Marion’s grief was immeasurable. Although Marion carried this loss with her to her last day, she was nevertheless able to live a full and long life. Her greatest joy was her three daughters, Marcia, Donna, and Marguerite. She cherished every minute with them, from dinners at the Asian buffet followed by a movie, weekends spent enjoying the sunshine in Jamestown, and extended holiday visits to Kentucky and North Attleboro. Marion cared little about what she was doing as long as she was with her girls, each unique in how they brought her so much happiness.

Beyond being remembered as a doting wife and proud mother, Marion is enshrined as a warm and genial grandmother. Countless memories of “Gram” include her cooking and celebrating how food brings a family together – Sunday dinners of gravy and meatballs, tuna sandwiches when Grandpa would come home from work for lunch, weeks of cookie baking leading up to Christmas, and the routine stocking of her pantry with treats such as party mix, pepper biscuits (later to be dipped in Sanka coffee), and chocolate chip cookies…with walnuts! Many other small things will serve as reminders of Gram – poached eggs, cut up watermelon and cantaloupe, and hamburgers made in the frying pan; shoe clips to bedazzle her collection of high heels; Wheel of Fortune and animal shows such as National Geographic (because they were the only “real” thing on TV!); and Saturday mornings at the playground, summer days washing her Cadillac in the driveway, and visits with Aunt Gert. Gram also loved to crochet, often sitting in her blue leather armchair with her yarn bag by her side. Her homemade afghans will continue to warm the homes of her children and grandchildren and be passed on from generation to generation.

Although Marion will be greatly missed, her family finds peace in knowing that she is now reunited with Eddie, and together they will watch over those left behind.

Marion is survived by: her three daughters, Marcia Gallucci and her husband Robert, Donna Rothemich and her husband Stephen, and Marguerite DelPonte and her husband Joseph; her grandchildren, Robert Gallucci and his wife Dawn, Edward Gallucci and his wife Anne, Dana Tiberi and her husband Paul, Donna Jean Sabitoni and her husband Todd, Erika Girard and her husband James, Monika Page and her husband Todd, Megan Rothemich and her husband Kevin Kershaw, Joseph Fiorenzano and his wife Jessica, and Alana DiSimone and her husband Antonio; her great-grandchildren, Michael and Lauren Gallucci, Angela and Edward Gallucci, Julia, Noelle and Lee Tiberi, Alexander and Sydney Sabitoni, Michaela and Matthew Girard, Oliver, Harrison and Theodore Page, Grayson and Vivienne Kershaw, and Carmela DiSimone. Marion is the sister of the late Gertrude DiLorenzo, Helen Silva, Dorothy Wrobleski, Walter Vaughn, and Raymond Vaughn.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a committal service on Friday, December 16th at 11:00 a.m. in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 1000, Dept.142, Memphis, TN 38101-9908.