Obituaries 12-16-2015

Janeruth ‘Jr.’ Delathouwer

Registry of Motor Vehicles retiree

Janeruth “Jr.” (Israel) Delathouwer of Revere, formerly of Chelsea, passed away on December 9. She was 73 years old.

The beloved wife of John Delathouwer with whom she shared 45 years of marriage, she was the loving mother of Danielle McCusker and her husband, Robert of Lynn and Nicole Mercurio and her husband, Richard of Revere; dear sister of Alan Israel of New Hampshire and the late Myles Israel and the cherished grandmother of Robert Jr., Kyle, Devin and Cody.

Funeral arrangements were by Vazza’s “Beechwood” Funeral Home, Revere. Committal was private. For additional information, visit: www.vazzafunerals.com

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Carol Otolo

Longtime Blue Cross Bookkeeper

Carol A. Otolo of Revere died unexpectedly at home on November 7. She was 58 years old.

A long time bookkeeper for Blue Cross Blue Shield, she was the beloved daughter of the late Samuel and Helen (Amato) Otolo; dear sister of Jeanie Vaitis and her late husband, Ellis of Saugus, Lorraine Gilmartin and her husband, James of Florida and Diane Wells and her husband,, Jack of Peabody; loving aunt of Karen Cote and her husband, Ray of Arizona, Dino Vaitis and his wife, Kelli of Saugus and John Robert Wells of Peabody and the great aunt of Athena, Deven, Ariana and Sofia. She is also survived by her longtime boyfriend, Peter Bagarella of Peabody.

Funeral arrangements were by the Paul Buonfiglio & Sons-Bruno Funeral Home, Revere. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery. For guest book Please visit www.Buonfiglio.com

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Ferdinand Grasso

GE retiree and veteran of two wars

Ferdinand P. Grasso died on December 9 at his Lynn residence following a long illness. He was 87 years old.

Born and raised in the Readville section of Boston on January 26, 1928, he attended Boston schools and was a 1945 graduate of Hyde Park High School. He later completed his bachelors degree at Northeastern University, Boston, majoring in draftsmanship and mechanical engineering. His time at Northeastern University was both a challenge and extraordinarily successful. He worked full time at General Electric of Lynn and then embarked on his trek to Boston at night for his courses, five evenings a week, finally graduating in 1958.

The social atmosphere, from the late twenties to the early seventies was not particularly welcoming to the children of Italian, Jewish and Irish immigrants. Their struggles were intense, often cruel, and seldom fair. However, they were a strong, proud culture. They walked to wherever they had to go, be it school, work or to their Church or Temple. Usually, the more of a struggle earned them success. Often they would become expert in the profession they sought and uniquely gifted in the labor force. Most of this generation, would own and operate their own business and provide a continuum for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Ferdinand did this and more for his family to insure and provide for them to the very best of his strength.

Ferdinand lived early in the Readville section of Boston, then married, moving to East Boston in 1953. In 1971, the couple made their way to Revere where they lived until 2004 when they moved to the Lynn Woods section of Lynn.Mr. Grasso retired after over 25 years of service as a draftsman supervisor for General Electric Co. of Lynn, a job he cherished and excelled to perfection.

His service to his country is marked with integrity and dedication. He is both an army veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He was discharged from his army service at the time of the Korean Conflict on January 27, 1953, the day following his 25th birthday.

He was the beloved and devoted husband of Anna (Scrima) Grasso, who passed on March 1, 2015; the cherished father of Mary Anne Fiore and her husband, Dr. William J. Fiore, DMD of Topsfield, Linda M. DeGuglielmo and her husband, Carmine and Diane R. Januario and her husband, John B. all of Lynn, Denise A. Burch and her husband, Edward of Tewksbury and Lisa J. Rizzo and her husband, Paul of Revere. He was the dear brother of the late, Anthony and Patrick Grasso and the son of the late Pasquale Grasso and Sarah (Melito) Grasso; the loving grandfather of 11 and the adoring great grandfather of 10. Many caring nieces ,nephews, grand-nieces and grand- nephews also survive him.

Funeral arrangements were by the Vertuccio & Smith Home for Funerals, Revere. Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, Ma. 01701-9376. For more information, please visit www.vertuccioandsmith.com.

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Sophia Winn

Retired wedding gown designer

Sophia M. (Cianciulli) Winn, a life long Revere resident, died at the home of her daughter in Palm Coast, Florida on December 9 following a long illness. She was 86 years old.

Born in Boston, she lived in Revere her entire life. “Sofie”was gifted at a young age with an appreciation for all things connectedto the arts. She began sewing as a young girl and was soon creating dresses. Her real forte seemed to be in formal wear such as wedding ensembles. Soon she would hang a shingle on her home “Sofia Winn—Dressmaker” and she became famous creating and designing some of the most unnique and elegant wedding gowns in the Commonealth. Sofie did this from the early 1950’s through 2000, when she sold her Revere home and moved to her son, Dr. Clifford’s home, in Billerica. About a year ago, she experienced her last moving trek – to Palm Coast, Florida, the home of her daughter, Heidi.

Sophia was, indeed, ahead of her time i.e. she was non-judgemental, accepting and certainly possessed an abundance of energy. She related well to the younger generation, particularly to her grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

She was the wife of the late Revere Patrolman and Deputy Sheriff for Suffolk County, Harold E. Winn, Jr.; cherished mother of Bruce A. Winn and his wife, Jane of Pittsfield, Scott A. Winn and his wife, Denise, of Methuen, Heidi A. Shipley and her husband, Marvin of Palm Coast, FL, Harold T. Winn and his wife, Elysa of Tewksbury and Dr. Clifford M. Winn and his wife, Vanessa of Portsmouth, NH; dear sister of Rita Flanagan of Lynn and the late Salvatore F. “Sonny” Cianciulli, Jr. and Martin L. Cianciulli. She is also lovingly survived by two sisters-in-law, Mildred E. “Casey” Cianciulli of Peabody and Miriam Cianciulli of Malden, her niece, The Honorable Judith Flanagan-Kennedy of Lynn, her daughter-in-law, Patricia (Long) Winn of Billerica and by many other nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Her funeral will be conducted from the Vertuccio & Smith Home for Funerals, 773 Broadway (Route 107) Revere today, December 16, at 9 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Anthony of Padua Church, 250 Revere Street, Revere at 10 a.m. Interment will be in Puritan Lawn Memorial Cemetery West Peabody. For additional information,, please visit: www.vertuccioandsmith.com

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Roberta Lee ‘Bobbi’ Sherman

of Arizona, formerly of Revere

In loving memory of Roberta Lee ‘Bobbie’ Sherman of Phoenix, Arizona, formerly of Revere, who passed away on December 7. She was 51 years old.

Roberta was born December 7, 1964 in California, the daughter of Raymond and Marian Sherman. A former Revere resident, she then moved to sunny Phoenix, Arizona.

Roberta is survived by her daughter, Marissa, and will be joining her son, Mikey, with the angels. Roberta also leaves two brothers, Jeff and Steve Sherman, nieces and nephews and her best friends Joni, Tanya, Wendy, and Peggy who will dearly miss her

A private family service was held December 15 at Phoenix Memorial Park. The celebration of Roberta’s “Bobbi’s life was held at Wendy’s house. Please send family condolences or a final personal comment to Roberta “Bobbi’s” Facebook page: Roberta Sherman-Pitrone.

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Francis Oesterle, Jr.

Retired Revere Firefighter

Francis H. Oesterle, Jr., retired Revere Firefighter,, passed unexpectedly on December 9 at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston. He was 89 years old.

Born in Gloucester, the family moved to Beachmont, Revere in the early 1930s. “Franny” attended Beachmont Schools and was a graduate of Revere High School, Class of 1944. Soon after graduation, in October of 1944, he joined the US Coast Guard and served as a Fireman 1st Class until May of 1946. He later began a 30 year career with the Revere Fire Department, retiring in 1982.

Franny was the beloved husband of the late Margaret M. “Peggy” (Teevens) Oesterle who passed in October of 2009; the devoted father of Karen A. Oesterle, R.N. of Revere and Thomas F. Oesterle and his wife, Linda R. of Newnan, Georgia; the cherished grandfather of Allison F. and Luke T. Oesterle, both of Newnan, GA. He is also lovingly survived by his sister-in-law, Dorothy A. McDonough and her husband, William J. of Hanover, Ma., Mary Teevens of Pembroke and the late Eugene F. Teevens Jr. Several nieces and nephews also survive him.

Funeral arrangements were by the Vertuccio & Smith Home for Funerals, Revere. Entombment was in the Versailles Building at Woodlawn Community Mausoleum, Everett.

In lieu of flowers., remembrances may be made to the: St. Jude Children’s’ Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept.142, Memphis, TN.38101-9908. For more information, please visit: www.vertuccioandsmith.com.

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Dorothy Mastronardi

Excellent teacher, mother and homemaker

Dorothy (DePietro) Mastronardi, originally from Revere, passed away peacefully in her sleep in Florida where she has lived since her retirement from the Revere Public School system. She was in her 100th year.

She was the wife of the late Anthony Mastronardi and mother of John (recently deceased), Merilyn, Ronald, Jeanne and Anne, grandmother to Lia, Jena, Nick, Adria, Merilyn, Jessica, Michelle and Sam and great grandmother and aunt to many others.

Dorothy (Dot) was a paragon of womanhood who not only had an excellent career as a teacher for many years but also was an excellent mother, homemaker, and mentor to so many over her long life.

Although she was born in l916, she was a modern woman in that she strove to “have it all”– a satisfying job that she loved and was successful at, in addition to being part of the traditional Italian-American family lifestyle– that of a mother and homemaker— which she was devoted to and excelled at. She was a great cook and loved to entertain, she knit and crocheted beautifully, did artistic and creative projects, studied Russian and did yoga . . . and yet was a dedicated, excellent educator who was much loved and admired by her many students.

Also, she was a proponent of taking pride in our heritage. She’d pepper her dinner table conversation with things like . . .”and you know, John Cabot was Giovanni Cabotto, originally from Italy . . . “ that sort of thing. Always, she instilled pride in our being Italian-American. She was educated, well-read and intelligent and was a great inspiration for her family, students and friends.

And she taught by example as well as in the classroom . . . for instance, many women “back then” were inspired to “go back to school” and continue their education when they saw that Dorothy, who had a family, could still work as a teacher, something that was not “done” in those days. She helped break through that old idea that women, once they were married and had children, must stay at home and out of the work force, or at least, out of the school system.

Dorothy had a great sense of style and was always beautifully dressed, well-coordinated and in the latest fashion. She took great pride in her appearance and looked terrific. Right up to the end of her long life, she made the effort to “look good” . . . to have her hair and nails done, her outfit freshly ironed, and her jewelry and shoes (or hat) to match. And she stayed the same slim-size 8 her whole life. She enjoyed so many activities in her long retirement in Florida . . . she golfed a lot (at least once she got a hole-in-one on her par-three course), played bridge and other card games, enjoyed bocci, shuffle-board, bowling and just about any other game that was offered.

She traveled extensively with her husband, Cha and their great friends, Mario and Eleanor Misci, and after Cha passed away, with her family and “girls club” friends to Europe and many places in this country. She had a wonderful, active, event- filled lifestyle.

She was devoted to her grandchildren and spent countless hours reading to them, playing games and interacting with them in their various activities and attending their many recitals, sports events, graduations and other productions.

She was a wonderful, generous, kind, thoughtful, witty person who will be missed by many.

There will be a memorial celebration of her life in May on what would have been her 100th birthday.