Her family came first and was above all else. It was a value she instilled in her children and grandchildren.
As a young girl, she waitressed at the family-owned Lerz’s Restaurant in Waterbury with her parents and siblings. In high school, she led both Wilby and Southington High School’s marching bands with pride.
Tina also played the fife in several fife and drum corps. She taught baton at Hatton School. She loved her time as a teacher’s aide helping young students. She was a travel agent, alongside her sister Louise, at the family-owned Paradise Travel Agency in Plantsville. She worked at Union Trust Bank, where she made many lifelong friends. Making family birthday cakes, pepper biscuits, and cookies was something she loved. She enjoyed vacations to Las Vegas to visit her family there.
In 1957, she met Joe, and the two were inseparable from that point on. They were married for 60 years and leave behind four children, Donna D’Agostino, Patricia (D’Agostino) Whalen and Steven Whalen Sr. with whom she made her home, Joseph Jr. and Joanne D’Agostino, and Mark Sr. and Karen D’Agostino. She is also survived by her adored grandchildren, Anna (Whalen) and Christopher Cornett, Steven Whalen Jr. and Alicia Whalen, Joseph III, Dante, Mark Jr., Silvio, and Christian D’Agostino; a great-granddaughter Juliana Cornett, and several beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Joseph, parents Joseph and Louise Lerz, in-laws Arthur and Anna D’Agostino, brothers Joseph and Harold Lerz, sisters Mary Weston and Louise Eisenbeiser.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, June 14, 2021 at 9:15 am from the DellaVecchia Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St. to St. Thomas Church for a Mass at 10 am. Burial will follow at St. Thomas Cemetery. Calling hours will be on Sunday from 2-5 pm. Donations may be made in Tina’s memory to Southington Catholic, 133 Bristol St. Southington, CT 06489
For online condolences and directions please visit www.dellavecchiasouthington.com
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