Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend peacefully passed away in her sleep at the age of 98 on August 03, 2020. Her final days were at her home in Dallas, Texas, surrounded by and in the care of her loving family.
Ann was born of Sicilian heritage in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1922, and was the eldest of four siblings, including her surviving brother, Sam LaBarba. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Dallas, Texas, where, in 1941, she met and married Frank F. Todora. During the war Ann worked as a nanny and a seamstress to be near Frank while he was stationed in San Francisco.
Upon their return to Dallas, Ann and Frank started a grocery store while raising their ever-expanding family of seven children. After moving their store several times, Ann found a location on Greenville Avenue where they would open their most successful store in 1962. The Parkit Market has been operated by the Todora family for 58 years.
She was a devout member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and made regular contributions to her parish and to her favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Hospital. She even had a statue built in Italy which she donated to the St. Jude Church in Allen, Texas.
Deemed ‘the Cake Lady’, Ann baked delicious homemade cakes and treats for various charitable organizations, church events, clergy, and her friends and family. One of her most treasured traditions was to gather her children in the family home each Christmas season to make hundreds of biscotti. She was known for her large parties, bountiful meals, and homemade Italian sausage recipe which remains a family secret to this day.
She was preceded in death by her husband Frank Todora, parents Christopher & Rosalie LaBarba, her sisters Lena Cappello & Josephine Serignet, and her beloved son Chris “Chug” Todora.
Ann is survived by her children: Tony (Sari Loremo), Pete (Rose Ernst), Michael (Melissa Svoboda), Steve (Stephanie Albano), John, Gina (Paul Hansen), and daughter-in-law Tena (David Roden); her grandchildren: Tiffany (Clint Fulmer), Christopher, Amy (Clark Campbell), Katy (Sheri’ Smith), Matthew, Emily (Rene Ramirez), Rachel, Jennifer, and Meghan; and her great-grandchildren: Scarlett, Savanna, Payton, and Jackson.
In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to St. Jude Children’s hospital in Memphis.
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