One of eight children, Carolina “Lina” Molino was born in Naples, Italy on August 2, 1928 to Alfonso and Filomena, who was lovingly called “the most beautiful lady”. The growing family lived a wonderful life together until the impacts of war visited their doorstep. While still a young girl, The Italian Royal Army sent Lina’s father, Alfonso, on assignment to fight in Africa and soon thereafter World War 2 would force her to watch her beautiful hometown of Naples crumble under the rages of war. Whenever the sirens sounded, she would help carry her younger siblings as they sprinted to shelters hoping to get there before the bombs landed. Each time, their survival provided a sense of relief, only to find more and more of their city in rubble. The family was eventually left with no food, no electricity, and no running water.
Lina was too young to fully understand why her world was turned upside down, but old enough to help her desperate mother care for her 8 children. She helped search the war-torn city for food, sometimes doing work for foreign soldiers to earn a little bread to bring back to her family to share. The horrors of the war would stick with her for the rest of her life. But, Lina was never one to be defeated by her situation. As the war came to a close, already missing her father and having lost two of her younger siblings, she was determined to help her family overcome. To give her mother one less mouth to feed, and hopefully be able to send money back to her family, at the approximate age of 17, Lina forfeited her life with her family to marry an English soldier, Sidney, and left to live with him in England.
It was there that she had her first child, who she lovingly named Lina. When misfortune prevented her from being able to send money home from England, she bravely got onto a ship with her young daughter holding onto her hand and her son, Robert (Bob), in her belly. She was determined to leave her greatest hardships behind her, start a new life for her two children, and reunite with some of her family in Buffalo, NY. But, nothing would ever come easy for Lina. She struggled, now as a single mother, to feed her two small children. She worked a night shift at General Mills for some time, while also caring for her children during the day. Soon after, she fell in love and married her second husband, Michael “Mike,” with whom she had two more daughters, Jenny and Diane. After years of hardships, she was finally happy.
Together with Mike, she got a little taste of the American Dream, becoming a business owner when they opened a store called “L and M Hallmark.” She was a social butterfly, with an attractive, glowing personality. Her infectious smile radiated throughout every room she stepped into. Lina loved to dance and sing, often going out with family and friends to dance and sing the night away. She would sometimes charm her way up onto the stage to sing along with the live band. She even found herself in recording studios, recording herself singing with her brother Joe. Until her final days, she proudly played those songs for anyone who would listen. But for as much as she loved to have a good night out on the town, what Lina loved more than anything in the world was her family.
When her marriage with Mike came to an end, Lina remained a beacon of hope not only for her kids, but for many of her friends and family as well. She always offered words of encouragement that some say saved their lives and advice that was very well cherished and trusted. Though she was always there for those around her, no love was greater than the love she had for her kids and grandkids. They were everything to her. Her family was her life. She was intricately involved in each of her kid’s lives; wanting to be sure they had all they needed. She supported each of her four kids in every way she knew how, including working with them and working for them. Though each of her kids was very different, she loved each and every one of them exactly the same; with a heart so full of love she couldn’t help but overflow. She was an amazing mother for her kids, but also their best friend.
She was an incredible mother, a caring provider, an angelic comforter, a chef from heaven, and an endearing counselor for her kids and her grandkids. She also loved to sing and dance with them even more than a night out on the town. From her first born, Lina, who she sang and danced to the jitterbug and the cha-cha with, to singing and dancing with her Grandkids to “Who Let the Dogs out;”Lina’s infectious love and joy of life spread like a wildfire. That love only grew bigger when she came to know the love of God. Always mindful of her kids, grandkids, and loved ones, she would pray for each and every one of them by name, twice a day!
Her soul was so beautiful, that it could sometimes be sobering. Not only from the love she shared, but also from the wisdom she imparted, often responding to a salutation of “see you tomorrow” with “God willing.” She knew one day would be her last day and she always let us know that day could be today. Way back then, she was preparing us for this moment.
Lina will be dearly missed. She was a special woman to all who met her; filled with strength, audacity, ingenuity, exuberance, and a recipe book that would rival the world’s most renowned chefs. To know her was to love her, and to love her all it took was to know her. She now joins her sisters Maria, Anna, Giovanna, Emma, and her grandson, Paul in heaven; where she will dance and sing forevermore. She leaves behind three siblings and their spouses: Joseph and Maria Molino, Rita and Franco Audino, and Alfredo and Laura Molino; four children and their spouses: Lina and James Pufal, Robert and Constance Kramer, Jenny Hunter, and Diana and Kevin Finnerty; 15 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. God Bless!
More importantly, she leaves behind a legacy of courage, love, and compassion that should be carried on by us all. In honor of her, may we have the courage to love each other with the compassion of God that Carolina so diligently shared with us. God willing!!!
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”
- Proverbs 31:25-28
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