Annadora Pedro

Annadora Perillo Pedro was born in Bari, Italy, in a city of stone and sea. On her first birthday, she sailed to New York, beginning a life shaped by movement, imagination, and the deep magic of words.

She grew up in the Bronx and Orangeburg, New York, the daughter of an Italian family whose love was large and lively, where blessings were plentiful and opinions freely shared. Italy, though an ocean away, was never far from her feet or her heart. It lived in her gestures, her humor, and her fierce devotion to beauty, art, and story.

Books became her refuge and her compass. After graduating from Tappan Zee High School, at 17, she went to study in the ivory towers of Marymount College and Richmond College in London, receiving a BA in English and the Gold Medal in Creative Writing from Marymount. She believed words could build bridges, open doors, and offer safe harbor, and she spent her life proving it.

Annadora devoted many years to public libraries in New York, where she worked in Youth and Adult Services, creating worlds for children through stories, crafts, and programs that made reading feel like an adventure. She was a champion of curiosity, a builder of welcoming and inclusive spaces, and a quiet force of generosity in her communities. Long after story-hour ended, her influence lingered in the confidence of young readers and the warmth of shared discovery.

She was also a poet and writer. Her work earned recognition from the John David Johnson Poetry Competition and the New Millennium Writing Poetry Award, appeared In Italian-American anthologies, and the Oberon Poetry Magazine. Her lifelong love of storytelling culminated in the publication of her novel Bella in 2024. Set in the star-shaped Italian city of Sabbioneta, the book weaves a multigenerational tale of love, magic, and women bound by history and fate. The novel was a finalist for the Heekin Foundation’s James Fellowship for a Novel-in-Progress and stands as a testament to Annadora’s enduring devotion to language, heritage, and the quiet power of imagination.

In later years, Annadora made her home by the sea in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. She volunteered, wrote, read, dreamed, and lived gently, accompanied always by her beloved cat, Tyce.

She is survived by her sons, Anthony Pedro and Joseph Pedro; her sister, Roberta Perillo; her brother, Robert Perillo; and by the countless readers, writers, and children whose lives were brighter because she believed in them.

Online condolences may be made at www.shallottefunerals.com

White Funeral and Cremation Service, Shallotte Chapel