Edna Dellamaggiore

She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grew up in Foxboro, where she graduated from Foxboro High School in 1966. The youngest of four siblings, she is survived by her sister, Mary Lamar, and her brother, George McKinnon.

Edna started her working life in Boston as a bookkeeper at the Iron Workers Union. Back then, she loved watching the Bruins, but what she really loved was dancing. In 1975, she met her husband, Nelson O. Dellamaggiore, a musician who asked her to dance after one of his shows. That moment turned into a lifelong love and partnership.

They married that same year and moved to Los Angeles in 1977, where they welcomed their son, Nelson, in 1978. In California, Edna built a life rooted in community. She worked, showed up for her close-knit group of neighbors, and created a circle of friends who felt like family. She stayed connected to her extended family in San Diego and remained grounded in her faith, attending and volunteering at St. Jane Frances.

In 1987, Edna and her family moved to Spring Hill, Florida, to be closer to her parents, Ronald and Edna McKinnon. They became part of the St. Frances Cabrini parish community, where Edna continued to give her time and care to others. She worked for several local businesses over the years and eventually at Bartok Records, an opportunity that gave her the ability to travel and see more of the world.

In her later years, Edna cherished time with her son Nelson and her granddaughters, Leela and Kali, who affectionately called her “Grammy.” She loved to tell them stories about her own childhood and to bake them her famous Haymarket Square chocolate chip cookies, she will be missed by them in all the small, everyday ways that matter most.

Edna found joy in simple, everyday things: cooking for holidays, enjoying a glass of white wine (with lots of ice) at her favorite Italian restaurant, settling in with a good procedural cop show or mystery novel, working through a crossword or sudoku puzzle or playing the slot machines with her "sistah" Mary, the two of them laughing side by side. She always kept dancing—especially line dancing—and became a regular at Guido’s Pizza, where she was known and loved.

Above all, Edna was someone who took care of people. She was generous, strong, and deeply empathetic—the kind of person who noticed what others needed and quietly made sure they had it. She will always be remembered as generous, tough and sensitive, with a deep empathy for others. An empathetic soul who can finally rest.