May 16, 1920 – March 4, 2024
Jennie (Jovanna) Fazio, a resident of Reading for 36 years and formerly of Winthrop, passed away on March 4, 2024 at the Winchester Hospital. She was 103 years of age. Jennie was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 16, 1920, the daughter of the late John and Gaetane (Caruso) Fazio.
Jennie’s parents immigrated from Sicily, raising Jennie and her four siblings in the West End of Boston. Jennie moved to Winthrop, MA for 26 years then eventually settled in Reading, MA. She was employed at George Manufacturing Company in Boston as a skilled seamstress for 40 years.
In her 20s, Jennie enjoyed spending her weekends traveling down to New York City where she would meet up with friends to go dancing, always with the hopes of catching a glimpse of Frank Sinatra in the city. Fondly remembering her go-to dance moves, she especially often spoke of her love for the “jitterbug.” She also shared many memories from her time living in Boston going to shows and making meals for the neighborhood kids.
While she was courted by many suitors from Italy to Boston, Jennie chose to live her life as a fiercely independent woman. She enjoyed spending her free time traveling, Cuba being one of her favorite destinations, perhaps due to its culture of music and dancing.
Most people in Jennie’s life called her “Aunt Jennie”. While Jennie did not have biological children of her own, her relatives still looked to her as the family matriarch and a loving aunt to over fifty nieces and nephews. This title even extended to friends outside of the family who doted on her. She always looked forward to the holidays when she would help dress a family member in the custom red Santa suit that she sewed. She loved to gift her family with hand-crafted items from floral-printed plastic bag holders to crochet hats.
Jennie loved to cook and bake even up until she was 103. Her biggest joy was feeding her family, and those lucky enough to eat at Aunt Jennie’s could taste the joy and care that she put into every dish. One of her most iconic dishes included her “macaroni” with homemade red sauce, meatballs, and sausage. Another was her array of delicious cookies, including her famous pizzelles and “hershey kiss cookies”. It was not out of the ordinary for Aunt Jennie to stay up all night baking hundreds of cookies to give out to her neighbors, family and friends. As for Jennie, she preferred to indulge in plain animal crackers and several cups of black coffee.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed sharing vivid, sentimental, and sometimes cheeky stories – and oh, were there many – about her long life. There was not a day in Jennie’s 103 years that she didn’t make someone laugh with her wit and charm, and she will be sorely missed.
She is survived by her many nieces and nephews including her close caretakers Linda Rose-French, Joanna Widman-French and Renee Ward, as well as the Rose families, Fazio families, Silverio families, Pustizzi families and Schena families.
A visitation will be held for Jennie at the Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home 25 Sanborn St. (corner of Woburn St.) Reading on Sunday, March 10 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm followed by a prayer service and eulogy at 4pm.
