Rita C. Peroni

Rita C. Peroni, age 100, of North Palm Beach, Florida passed away on Sunday, March 7, 2021. Rita was born August 25, 1920 in Youngstown, Ohio. She grew up alongside siblings Loretta, Margaret, Lucy, Ralph, and Patricia, and her shenanigans quickly highlighted her as the daredevil of the family. She earned the nickname “Toti”, because she was often found in Mill Creek Park with a toad in her pocket. She loved her siblings, and adored her beautiful, quiet, and loving Mama.

In Youngstown, Rita met the love of her life, Tommy, and told family over and over that she “melted in his arms” on their first dance together in Idora Park. Tommy swept her off her feet, and they married in 1941 and had three daughters – JoAnn, RitaAnn, and MaryAnn. As they got older, Friday night became homemade pizza night, and teens came from near and far to eat and hang out in the Peroni basement. Music was always a part of their lives, and JoAnn had a piano act for which Tommy built a miniature white piano, and Rita proudly ran the built-in lights during the show. Equally important to Rita was her sense of adventure. She loved to go hiking in her favorite park with MaryAnn & RitaAnn, splashing through creeks and climbing through caves. She was as loving and doting as any mother could possibly be, and she made sure, sometimes with the whispered pact “don’t tell Daddy!”, that each of the three girls experienced every hayride, wore beautiful dresses, and were able to pursue the education that she herself had given up, in order to care for her mother. She sacrificed so that her daughters could prosper, and they were the center of her world.

Tommy and Rita moved to Florida in 1974. They had a social life rich with friends, parties, and lots and lots of dancing. If Mack the Knife or Louis Prima were played, they would be the first on the floor. But Rita didn’t only dance when she was out – her kitchen was her own family dance studio. If she wasn’t cooking, she was usually teaching a daughter or grandchild the jitterbug. There was always a stick of pepperoni in the icebox, along with swiss cheese and a vodka martini. Rita loved to vacation with her family and visit them wherever their travels took them – Scotland, the Hawaiian Islands, a cruise every year to an exotic port.

Rita was just as devoted to her four grandchildren: Kelly, Tommy, Kasey, and Frankie. She taught them to cook, and together they played countless board games, cowboys and indians on the coffee table, had endless fun roaming the halls and corridors of Gemini, and loved to swim in the pool. She travelled the world to visit them in their adulthood, riding a bobsled down a mountain in Breckenridge, eating lobster on a yacht in Boston, wearing a kimono in a ryokan in Tokyo, and playing Skip-Bo at the kitchen table in the middle of the night. Over the span of about three decades, her grandchildren and their wonderful spouses gave her 14 great-grandchildren; Brent, Joshua, Tommy, Jordan, Collin, Taylor, Brittany, Frank, Steven, Jaiden, Jack, Roman, Oscar, Beatrice, and Frankie & Ashlee’s sweet baby Dolsak, due in September 2021. Tender memories of Christmases in Disney, spaghetti and meatballs waiting on the kitchen table upon visits to her apartment, and crossword puzzles and dice games will be held in their hearts always. In 2018, the Peroni family reached a new milestone by adding it’s fifth generation with little Margot, making Rita a great-great grandmother. A blessed family, indeed.

Rita swam laps in the pool until she was 80, stood on her head until she was 90, and yelled answers out to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy while riding her exercise bike until she was 100 years old. And for those 100 years, this world has known her love, kindness, and strength. She was the center of this family, and though we are rocked by her loss, she is with us in every good belly laugh, every pasta dinner, every act of mischief, every dance in the kitchen, and most of all, every expression of love. To honor her, we must simply “be kind to each other”.

We will love you forever, Mom, Granny, and Nonnie. Dance with your Tommy, until we meet again.

Contributions in Rita's memory may be made to Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 E Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida US, trustbridgefoundation.org.

The family will hold a private memorial on Mother's Day. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.howard-quattlebaum.com for the Peroni family.