Many people talk about how their mother was the strongest woman that they ever knew. We truly know that our Mamma was the strongest woman we ever knew.
Mamma was born in Portici, Italy on Dec. 1, 1944. Her father Ciro Fronda was a baker, and her mamma, Clara (Di Mola) Fronda was a homemaker. Mamma was surrounded by ten other brothers and sisters, yes, she was one of eleven children. They were a close family and if you saw our grandparents’ home in Italy you would understand how close. In the early sixties she met a young American Navy man that was stationed in Naples, my pop Roland Lee Renhack. They fell in love and on Oct. 27th, 1966, they were married. Mamma left her parents and all her brothers and sisters to move to the United States, Michigan to be exact. Not knowing any English and moving from the city to a more rural area, she uprooted the life she knew to start a new one in America.
Mamma had three children of her own while living in Michigan. Patrizia in 1968, Sharon in 1970 and Marco, the baby boy in 1973. What we remember in the 70s is that pop worked two to three jobs at a time, while our mamma raised us three kids. Not only did mamma raise us, but she also started to help raise other families’ children by starting a home daycare, and that was her profession for almost 40 years.
Now this young Italian woman that married a young man in the Navy and left her country to start a whole new life in a new country wasn’t the hardest thing she did and isn’t what makes her the strongest woman we have ever known.
Yes, mamma raised her three children, along with many other children throughout her life. That too is a huge feat in its own. She ran the household like a well-oiled machine. There wasn’t a day that went by that she did not clean the whole house and make sure that all of us kids ate three times a day. She also was able to find time to spend with each of us.
The three of us kids grew up and married, and we all thanked our mamma for our wonderful childhood by giving her six grandchildren. These children gave our mamma even more purpose in life. The great thing is her grandchildren grew up too and a couple were married. They then blessed her again with five great-grandchildren.
Then came a time when mamma was faced with another huge challenge. She became sick back in the early 2000’s. She contracted an illness in her lungs, and it was making them weak. Pop made sure that mamma was getting the best care and she ended up going to Mayo Clinic. She was receiving care from the best in the world but eventually had to be placed on the transplant list. We all prayed for her, to stay strong for herself in hopes that day would come that we would get the call from the Mayo with news of her transplant.
In 2009 the call finally came; a match was found, and mamma was blessed with the gift of life. The surgery went well and as the trooper that she was, her rehab did too. That thoughtless gift that she received from a total stranger gave our mamma fourteen more years with all of us and everyday was a blessing.
We know why God blessed her so many times throughout her life. It is because she gave her life to others without wanting anything in return. She took care of us all in one way or another without thinking about.
What makes our mamma the strongest women we knew, is not all the challenges she overcame. It was all the selfless acts that she made.
Teresa “Fronda” Renhack, age 79, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 9th, 2024, at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.
Teresa was born December 1st, 1944, in Portici Italy, to Ciro Fronda and Clara (Di Mola) Fronda.
She is survived by her husband, Roland Lee Renhack; her daughters Patrizia (Michael) Schrader, Sharon (Rusty) Echalico and son Marco (Lisa) Renhack; six grandchildren Miranda, Matthew, Emily, Cassidy, Lucia and Francesco; five greatgrandchildren Lexi, Trent, Isabella, Mikey and Sammy. Her six sisters, Antonietta, Anna Marie, Rosaria, Guilia, Isa and Gisella; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins; along with many close friends.
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