Adrienne T. Cagnina

Adrienne DiSabato was born to Ersilio and Valeia DiSabato December of 1930 in the

burrow of the Bronx, New York, NY. Coming into the world in the depths of the depression,

she was raised modestly with her sister Marie Therese (Theresa) and her brother Robert

(Bobby). In her teens as the war in Europe raged, she took an opportunity to become a

seamstress in the garment district of the city at age 14. Being under age, she used her

sister's birth certificate to get the job, legal working age at the time was 16. She was very

talented and soon came under the wing of a master seamstress that taught her how to sew

lace onto high end garments. Being paid by the piece, she was soon bringing home more

than her father and helped support the family though those tough times. She later used

those same talents to sew matching outfits for her two girls, Patricia and Andrea every year

for Christmas and Easter. She was very proud of her work.

She grew up in an Italian/Irish area of the Bronx and hung out with the local crowd, that is

where she met her husband to be, Vincent Cagnina and after the war they married. In 1951

her son was born. With complications from the birth, she spent the first 2 months of his

life in the hospital fighting for her life, thankfully she survived and went on to have her

daughters Andrea in 1954and Patricia in 1955. She was very proud of her children and

considered them her greatest accomplishment in life. All through her life she adored her

children and was willing to give up everything to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

Migrating to Florida in1952, Adrienne and Vince with John in tow, soon purchased a small

house in North Tampa and built a life together growing their family. As the family grew and

the children entered school, she found work at the Hillsborough Animal Clinic and

continued on there for over 30 years. Adrienne always loved animals, so it was a perfect fit.

She later went on to work for City Bank and finally retired, working well into her 80’s. She

was a proud woman and worked hard for everything in life.

Adrienne tried to enjoy life to the fullest. She loved the beach and spent many summer

vacations on Indian Rocks beach, walking the beach picking up shells, being baked by the

sun. Later in life she got the opportunity to travel and took trips to England, Europe, Hong

Kong, China and lots of time in the Caribbean. She also visited Hawaii and Alaska and most

of the states in the US. She especially enjoyed traveling to Italy where she looked up her

family roots in Milan and Genoa. She also discovered the area in Sicily where the Cagnina

name originated. She was greeted with open arms by some of her distant relatives she met

there, a time she always spoke fondly of.

To Adrienne, family was everything and has given her all to make sure every member of her

family was well taken care of and given every opportunity she could afford them. She was

always worried more about the welfare of her family than she was her own. She is survived

by her son John Cagnina, daughter Patricia Smith and her husband Larry, daughter Andrea

Cagnina, grandchildren Valeia Cagnina, Kelly Papaj and Corey Christenson, great

grandchildren Giana Papaj and Chase Papaj.

Adrienne Cagnina, a lovely, devoted mother and strong proud woman. May she rest in

peace.

Adrienne’s family would like to invite all interested parties to her viewing and interment at

Garden of Memories Wednesday December 27, 2023. Viewing will begin at 1pm with

graveside services at 2pm. Thank you all in advance for attending.