Neli immigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to the U.S. in 1966, joining her husband, Nicolás, in Culver City. They moved in the months before a military junta took control of Argentina, as economic uncertainty plagued their country and shut down their family small business.
Soon after arrival in California, Neli quickly set up a home and cared for their young son while Nicolás worked as a machinist. She juggled English classes with her husband and a job as a seamstress sewing custom, intricate uniforms and hospitality staff outfits for restaurants and other businesses. A few years later, they had a daughter.
Neli tackled her vocation as a homemaker with zeal. She cooked delicious Argentine foods like milanesas, empanadas, lasagna and canelones, and she sewed clothes and elaborate Halloween costumes for her children. Her ability to find shopping deals at supermarkets was beyond compare.
Through it all, she supported the academic aspirations and interests of her children. As a testament to her work as a mom, her two children both graduated from Stanford University as first-generation college students. She also was deeply invested in the lives and growth of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. To watch one of her granddaughters compete in international swimming competitions, she traveled to Barcelona, Spain, as well as Omaha, Nebraska. She also trekked to Indiana to witness the baptism of one of her great-granddaughters. Neli followed their adventures through photos and videos she watched happily on the family iPad.
We will miss her, but she lives on in our hearts and memory. She is survived by husband of 65 years, Nicolás Di Rado; son, Ruben DiRado, and daughter, Alicia Di Rado Dingsdale; daughter-in-law, Marit DiRado, and son-in-law, Paul Dingsdale; granddaughters Sarah O’Brien and Maya Andrews; and five great-grandchildren (with another on the way).
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