| It is with great respect and admiration that I eulogize the woman that everyone knows as MARY LAZZARA LICHT. AUNT MARY to the great majority of baby boomers here today. If per chance she wasn't really your Aunt - she undoubtedly made you feel like you were part of her flock - her family. AUNT MARY - Everybody knew AUNT MARY. If you didn't know her by name, you had to notice her or hear her. There was no one like AUNT MARY. She clamored into a room, found a comfortable seat in the center of the attention and lit up her cigarette even if she was in the non-smoking section. She demanded attention and always got it. AUNT MARY can best be typified by the 3 F Words: FAMILY, FOOD, FRIENDS. FAMILY -- AUNT MARY loved her children deeply - Ed, Connie, and of course her baby, Patti. AUNT MARY prided herself in her role of raising not one but four families. Grandchildren Bryan, Cara, Chris, Sean and even Mary Margaret, made her bubble. They each individually gave her momentum and the will to keep forging on but there is one person AUNT MARY dearly loved and couldn't be without!! AUNT MARY made it known to all that she didn't care if anyone came to dinner but Kathy - her # 1 daughter-in-law. Kathy was always a 10 in AUNT MARY'S book. AUNT MARY loved her nieces and nephews and showed it in too many ways to mention. As one of the oldest members of the San Leone Society - she prided herself in her devotion to St. Leo and never missed a Longitani mass or picnic. She can be best seen lately hobbling in with her cane and causing a confusion. She loved life and life loved her. She loved being head of our "Razza." One can still hear her saying my cousin Jose, my cousin Rosie, Louie, Charley, Pauly. She acted as if no one else in the world was related but her. AUNT MARY had a few pets (human that is) and many, many live-ins in her life-- one she particularly favored and often scolded was Gracie Ann -- she made her and many of us here feel special. ONLY TO KNOW MARY WAS TO LOVE HER. FOOD -- AUNT MARY'S door was always open and there was always something cooking on the stove or in the oven. She cooked by the hours and then took her position in her chair, armed with cigarettes and the phone. She started calling family and friend for a dish of pasta, the sauce was on or how about some cutlets. For the last 40 years that I can remember AUNT MARY had Christmas Dinner. This year as sick as she was, she insisted that her house be filled with memories "old and new." AUNT MARY never made it to Christmas Dinner that day but her kids filled the house with everything Italian you could possibly think of. Ed made his regular trip to Gallucci's, Connie cooked up a storm and Patti ran around setting the table and getting things ready. Everybody pitched in and we enjoyed a meal as we have done for several years. Josie and Rosie, AUNT MARY'S beloved sisters, whimpered a bit as they thought of AUNT MARY laying in intensive care not too far away at Marymount, and we all enjoyed a homemade meal but this year something was different. As we snuck to the refrigerator and checked the bottom drawer -- there was nothing hidden this year, like "Melanzane" for the special company like Uncle Joe Menta. I'm afraid Christmas dinner will never be the same. FRIENDS -- AUNT MARY can best be remembered as a "Comare" in every sense of the word. She was the epitome of a friend and neighbor.... 70 years later she still had her same beloved girlfriends -- Aunt Carol and Mary Cala. AUNT MARY loved her friends and often woke them up before dawn to take her to breakfast, namely Fran or Chris. She knew better than to wake up Steffie so she waited till noon to see if she could get yet another old and dear friend to take her for a corned beef sandwich and matzaball soup. AUNT MARY had an insatiable appetite and let you know when it was time to eat. As the years passed and playing cards became her full time occupation instead of a casual pastime. AUNT MARY's list of friends grew. She loved Gloria and Dee-Dee, Carl and Rosina and Betty Bonda, and the list goes on. She let the whole world know it and by the same token if you didn't raise your perfect low she'd just about throw the cards in your face. I wonder if AUNT MARY knew how many times she threw in the winning hand away because she couldn't see or know the game. AUNT MARY was unique, she was a spit-fire and you might say -- a woman ahead of her times. She taught us all to love and respect others while they are alive. She visited the sick when she could barely walk herself. She preached about the good old days at the Pinwheel and her escapades of love and life. It's often a wonder that Uncle Pat could contain her. She said what she wanted to and did what she wanted to. In closing, I'd like to quote a portion of a poem that I'm sure AUNT MARY would like you all to believe: "TO THE ONES I LOVE Grieve not Nor speak to me with tears But laugh and talk of me As if I were beside you..." AUNT MARY is gone but her spirit will never be forgotten. IN LOVING MEMORY Your niece Joanne Laurie-Alexander January 20, 1995 |
| AN ODE TO AUNT MARY ENTERED ETERNAL REST JANUARY 18, 1995 76 years 5 days old |
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| IN LOVING MEMORY MARY LAZZARA LICHT 1/13/1919 to 1/18/1995 |
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