Anna Del Grosso

Anna Del Grosso: Daughter, sister, aunt; homemaker, seamstress, ceramicist, business owner; baker and Italian food cook straordinaria. Her greatest and most proud accomplishments: Grandmother, great-grandmother and most of all mom.

Anna, who preferred to go by the shortened moniker Ann, was born in Manhattan, New York on December 31st, 1924, to Anthony and Grace DePalo and raised in Bronx, New York. The second of eight children, Ann had a hard upbringing, being tasked as a caretaker to their home and her siblings. Still, Ann persevered and began her career in the textile trade as a seamstress.

At age 24, Ann married her sweetheart Leonard Guarnera on June 2nd, 1946. They had three boys: Santi, Anthony, and Leonard. Ann moved to California with her three young children and her husband so he could further his career; she was widowed when her husband suffered a massive heart attack. Stranded in a strange land with her sons, Ann drew upon her own inner strength, as well as the strength and help of strangers and family alike, to make her way back to the Bronx.

A neighbor, Joseph Del Grosso, helped her with her transition back and caring for her three sons; after courting Ann they married on November 14th, 1959. Ann and Joe had three children of their own: sons John and Richard, and daughter Ann Marie, though Joe also referred to his wife’s other three boys as his sons - not stepsons.

After moving to the growing suburbs in Commack, New York, Ann continued her career as a homemaker and seamstress and, looking for some time for herself, followed her artistic inclination to an adult education ceramics class. This bloomed into a home ceramics studio and, when that exceeded expectations, Ann and Joe founded a full-fledged retail business named “Del Ceramics - The Friendly Folks.” After several years of stiff competition from a competing business located nearby, Joe and Ann decided to close Del Ceramics but continued for some time to teach the ceramics craft from their home studio to those willing to learn. Meanwhile, Ann rekindled her career as a seamstress as her children grew into lives of their own.

In 1988 Joe and Ann gave up the working grind, sold their home in Commack, and packed their bags for Falcon, Colorado where they had a house built. Ann enjoyed hiking, fishing, and of course continued her sewing as well as much-loved pastimes of cooking and baking. After being widowed again in 2000 while on travel to California when Joe succumbed to complications of diabetes, Ann returned home, soon sold the house and moved into an apartment in Colorado Springs, where oldest son Santi lives.

In 1991 Ann’s first grandchild, Tara, was born and her life turned to the new excitement of being a grandmother, a title she wore with great pride. Ann would later be blessed with several other grandchildren; later in life, with the birth of Eden, she would be honored with the bestowed title of great-grandmother. Being with and hearing from her multigenerational family was one of her greatest joys.

In March of 2020, with her sight failing and after several falls, Ann moved into an assisted living facility. With the pandemic factored in and unable to continue her beloved sewing, cooking and baking, her life became one of boredom and limited capabilities. Son Santi continued to be her caretaker, taking her to doctor visits, shopping, making several social visits a week and bringing happiness into her life with outings to the fast food restaurants and Chinese buffets that she so enjoyed.

On November 3rd, after a short hospitalization, natural causes called Ann in her 97th year to the Lord’s side. Ann’s legacy of modest strength, grace, and piety will live on in those who survive her: sisters Gloria Guarnera and Aurora Staiano and their children; sons Santi Guarnera; Tony Guarnera and daughter-in-law Cindy; John Del Grosso, daughter-in-law Fran, and granddaughter Tara; Rich Del Grosso, daughter-in-law Liz, and granddaughter Emily; and daughter Ann Marie Robertson, son-in-law Kyle, grandson Caleb and his wife Hannah Lisa and great-grandchildren Eden, Esmé, Enzo, and Isla, grandson Aaron, granddaughter Hannah Rebekah and her husband Nathan, granddaughter Chloe, and grandson Ethan. Son Leonard Guarnera predeceased Ann. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.