Ann M. DiFrancesco

Ann M. DiFrancesco (aka Anna, aka Nina) was born in 1919 in her parents’ house at 123rd Street, Manhattan, NYC. She passed away peacefully with family present on Tuesday, January 14th, 2025. As she had always wanted, she was in her own bed in her own home in Fort Pierce, Florida. Ann was 105 years old.

 She is survived by her sister, Gloria Copley of Tonka Bay, Minnesota, and a multitude of nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews and more. 

 She is preceded in death by her other siblings, all of whom she loved: Filippa (“Fannie”) Merritt, John (“Johnny”) DiFrancesco Sr, Annunziata (“Nancy”) DiFrancesco, Thomas (“Tommy”) DiFrancesco, Josephine (“Josie”) Centenaro, and Joseph (“Joey”) DiFrancesco Jr.

 In 2019 she turned 100 years old and her family threw her a big birthday bash. Here is what we learned about Ann…

 Ann in the 1910s

 Oldest sister and eldest of the siblings, Filippa (aka Fannie) was born in 1917.

Ann is born May 1, 1919 in her parents' house at 123rd Street, Manhattan 

Mama and Papa (and Fannie) call her “Nina”. 

Italian is Ann’s only language until she starts school.

Ann in the 1920s

 • Instead of Anna or Nina, her kindergarten teachers call her “Ann” — and it sticks.

• The DiFrancesco family is living at Mace Avenue, North Bronx, NY.

• 1927 “The Jazz Singer” is the first commercial movie with SOUND

• Between 1920 -1929 all her other siblings are born. 

• Gloria was the baby and Ann treated her like a living baby doll. This is probably where her love of dolls came from.

Ann in the 1930s

 • The Great Depression causes the loss of their Mace Avenue home.

• 1933 Age 14: helps to earn money by sewing buttons on shirts.

• 1937 Sees the Hindenburg out her classroom window before its disaster in Lakehurst, NJ, a few hours later.

• 1937 Graduates Evander Child High School (along with Duke Ellington’s son, Mercer).

• 1938 Scared by Orson Wells’ “War of the Worlds” ground-breaking live radio event.

• 1939 Sees “Gone with the Wind” one of the first movies in COLOR at Radio City Music Hall.

• First job: folding curtain rods in a factory on 23rd Street, NYC.

Ann in the 1940s

 • 1940 The draft makes it feel like “no one’s around”.

• 1941 December 7th “A day that shall live in infamy” Pearl Harbor attacked!

• Mama (Ann’s Mother) calls everyone in to hear FDR’s address to the nation.

• 1942 Brothers Johnny and Joey enlist in the Navy (they didn’t want to be drafted!)

• Ann said she worried so much about Johnny and Joey going off to fight actual Nazis and fascists.

• Gets promoted at her factory job: moved from HR to bookkeeping.

• Remembers rationing to help the war effort.

• Celebrates the safe return of her brothers! 

• Once a week she and sister Nancy go downtown to a movie, a concert or roller skating after work in the NY City.

• 1944 goes to see Frank “The Voice” Sinatra in concert at the Paramount Theater in Times Square 

(but TOO MUCH SCREAMING and fainting and hundreds of cops and first aid vehicles necessary!)

• 1945 WWII ends!

• Ann works for the Church Pension and Annuities Fund on Exchange Place, Manhattan.

• She’s a BIG fan of the Bronx Bombers (Yankees) and knows lots of stats (she was always good with numbers.)

• Traveled a lot with sisters; they “crash” sister Fannie and brother-in-law Danny’s honeymoon in Cape Cod.

Ann in the 1950s

 • 1952 Road trip to Chicago for Gloria’s nursing school graduation.

• Mama and Papa (her parents) move to Fort Pierce, Florida from the Bronx.

• Ann earns her insurance broker license.

• Ann and Nancy move to East Paterson, NJ. She commutes to work in NYC by train.

• Mid-50s Ann and Nancy buy their first house in Park Ridge, New Jersey; Gloria joins them.

• She flies for the first time (in a prop plane) to Florida…”no thanks!” Takes train back.

• She gets a job in Human Resources at Lederle Labs in Pearl River, NY (the same company where Nancy worked, so they commute together).

• 1959 Gina is born to Gloria and now there are 4 in their house.

• Lots of travel up and down the east coast with her housemates.

• Busy with gardening, tatting, sewing, crafting, cooking, entertaining, and enjoying life as an independent working woman.

Ann in the 1960s

 • The foursome move to a larger custom-built house on Ellen Drive, Park Ridge, NJ.

• Ann cultivates her master gardener skills in their larger yard.

• She cooks what she grows: a Julie Child protégé, Ann’s culinary skills (into her 90s) were legendary in our family.

• She joins the local Gardener’s Club and wins lots of ribbons for her flowers and vegetables.

• More travels: DC, Woodstock, Texas, Mexico, Pennsylvania.

• The “hostess with the most-ess” she and her sisters loved entertaining family and friends for Christmas and New Years.

• Anna is promoted to Head of Human Resources at Lederle (a pharmaceutical company, now Pfizer).

• Regular Friday “girls nights out” shopping at Sterns in Paramus, NJ with sisters Gloria, Nancy and Fannie.

Ann in the 1970s

 • 1975 Papa (her Father) passes.

• Countless weekend trips up to the Catskill Mountain cabin of Fannie and Danny Merritt.

• Brother Joey helps Nancy and Ann build their home in Lakewood Park — right next to Fannie and Danny!

• 1976 Nancy retires early from Lederle to take over care of Mama (their Mother). Ann stays in NJ waiting for Gina to graduate High School.

• 1977 Ann retires; she sells NJ home and moves to Fort Pierce.

• 1977 Gina attends University of Miami and visits almost every weekend for 2 years.

• New kid neighbors Lee, April, Savanah and Applejack the dog like to visit Ann & Nancy daily, bringing them joy.

• A steady stream of FL visitors begins: Ann looks forward to time with friends, nieces, nephews and siblings, eating picnic lunches at “da beach” with Mama then snoozing in the shade under the Australian pines at what is now the Ft. Pierce State Park: years of beachcombing, fishing, clamming, crabbing, gardening, cooking, and taking excellent care of their Mama. 

Ann in the 1980s

 • 1980 Ann & Nancy “inherit” Gina’s cat, Pierre. He lives 21 years.

• The “girls” play cards with Fannie every Friday night. 

• Nephew Robert Merritt (who lived just a few blocks away) provides a lot of greatly appreciated help to her and Nancy, doing lawn maintenance and whatever else they asked of him.

• Ann and Nancy are smitten with dollmaking, expertly sewing high-quality clothes for them.

• 1983 Mama passes at age 96 — the end of an era…

• 1984-1987 More travels: to New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, MN, WI, NJ, NYC and to the top of the World Trade Center; an epic 3-week road trip with Gina and Bruce in a rented conversion van from Minnesota to Banff, Canada, by way of MT, WY, ND and SD.

• Continues to garden, perfect her cooking skills, adds quilt-making and counted cross-stitch.

• She and Nancy attended Sunday mass at St. Anastasia church faithfully, and often afterwards visited brother Joey and sister-in-law May, who lived near the church.

• She and Nancy looked forward to card nights with Joey and May; and holidays with many other family and friends.

Ann in the 1990s

 • 1995 Hurricane Erin gives Ann, Nancy and Gloria a small taste of scary FL weather.

• The sisters’ hair is now all silver and their nickname becomes “The Q-Tips” (Ann and Nancy always enjoyed their visits to see niece-in-law Carol DiFrancesco, who cut their hair for many years).

• Now they really look similar. The “triplets” enjoy a cruise to Alaska. 

• Even more travel: to Italy with brother Johnny and wife Wadie.

• Ann joins in celebrating many family births, birthdays, weddings and anniversaries, spreading her quiet and genuine love around.

• The doll hobby is in full swing…

Ann in the 2000s 

 • Continues to make dolls, buy dolls, talk about dolls, dolls dolls dolls with Nancy. Their house is filling up with them!

• Lots and lots of visits from nieces and nephews and now their children; little kids always brought her joy!

• 2007 Family Reunion at the Ocean Grille in Vero Beach, FL (one of her favorite seafood spots).

• New neighbors “Jack and Jill” (Jack and Darlene Coverdale) are wonderful, thoughtful and helpful friends and card-night cohorts and welcomed guests for every holiday. 

• 2011 sister Fannie passes at age 96. 

• Ann and Nancy eventually adopt a cat, Lucy, and then later on take in a stray they named Charlie — they both brought them many years of companionship and joy.

• More cooking: the younger generation of grand nephews and nieces look forward to her gourmet meals, and legendary Fish Head soup.

• 2004/2017 Hurricanes Francis, Jeanne and Irma force Ann and Nancy to take refuge with nephew Michael DiFrancesco and gracious wife Carol while they wait for the historic flooding to recede from their neighborhood. The flood water was just inches away but their house was spared damage.

 Ann was utterly devoted to Nancy (who had developed dementia) and her wellbeing. They are blessed by an in-home caregiver affectionately known as “Barbara Angel” (so as not to confuse her with niece Barbara Hanna, who was staying in the house next door, Fannie’s former home).

 Still did her devotions and daily morning prayer, grocery shopped, cooked, gardened a little, kept informed of local news, world events and politics, managing finances and running the household, played cards and Rumikube daily, receiving a little help, giving a lot of help (to Nancy and still entertaining friends and family who love coming for visits, enjoy the sisters’ hospitality and company, hearing the stories of “back in the day...” 

 Eventually, Ann and Nancy were receiving the best of daily care from nieces Barbara Hanna along with a lot of patient help from husband John, NancyAnn DiFrancesco Harris and Lin French, who helped Ann carry on “gardening” on her porch. This team willingly and cheerfully provided an incredible amount of TLC to the sisters — more than can be written here.

In January 2023, her precious, ever-present companion and loving sister Nancy went to be with the Lord. Now there’s a new normal — after almost 101 incredible years together. The daily life of Ann and Charlie The Comfort Cat begin. Whenever she was taken to see her primary care provider, Dr. Arthur Splendoria of the Cleveland Clinic in Vero Beach, FL, he never ceased to be amazed at her health and longevity. He even made a house call to her in October 2024. 

Speaking on Ann’s behalf: she could not have done it without the many helping hands…she could not thank you enough for all you’ve done for the both of them over the years. There are so so many relatives, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances to thank: you know who you are. Thank you!

 Ann’s mind and memory were intact up until 3 days before she passed. She was still balancing her checkbook, paying bills, making decisions about home repairs and maintenance, reading the local paper, playing Rumikube and Golf (and keeping/tallying score), walking with her walker, doing her own hygiene, getting herself to bed on her own at night, and up again in the morning, etc. At 105.

 Ann as a person can be summed up through God’s standard outlined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 about love:

"Ann was patient. Ann was kind. She did not envy, did not boast, never acted proud. Ann did not dishonor others and was never self-seeking, was not easily angered and kept no record of wrongs. She never delighted in evil but rejoiced with the truth. She always protected, always trusted, always hoped, always persevered.”

 May we all receive comfort from the century of loving memories of her gentle and well-loved self, and peace in our hearts that she is now released from her worn-out earthly body and is in the house of the Lord forever.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Anastasia Catholic Church.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM at St. Anastasia Catholic Church, Fort Pierce.