A HUNDRED YEARS OF STORIES YOLANDA DI DOMENICO BROUGHT A BIT OF ITALY WITH HER TO U.S.Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer More than 80 years after she was a sobbing teen on a ship bound for America, Yolanda Di Domenico died Monday at age 100, a woman remembered for bringing her roots in the Italian countryside to her adopted homeland. Nello Di Domenico said that his mother ``lived the story of Ellis Island'' when she immigrated with her mother and brother to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. in 1919. She told her family the story how she cried so hard on the journey to America , her mother worried her daughter would be given a card marked ``red eyes'' and sent back to Italy. ``She had a million stories. She was born in a house that had a dirt floor. Her pet was a donkey,'' son Frank Di Domenico said of his mother's childhood in Abruzzi, Italy. ``She would wash the family's clothes by rubbing them over a rock.'' Yolanda Di Domenico told her sons that her secret to living a long life was not about what you ate and drank. It was keep on working, be positive not negative and don't worry about things. ``She was the best mom in the world. She loved people. Her door was always open,'' said Nello, her youngest son. ``Fun for her was making parties and having people over. She loved to cook and she could put food on the table any time of the day.'' ``She didn't go to a gym like our father did. She got her workout from starting in the kitchen and making bread at 4 in the morning,'' son Frank Di Domenico added. Both sons praised her as a master cook and baker. Her specialties included polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. , stirred for hours and topped with homemade tomato sauce, onions and sausage and a thinly sliced flank steak Noun 1. flank steak - a cut of beef from the flank of the animal flank - a cut from the fleshy part of an animal's side between the ribs and the leg beefsteak - a beef steak usually cooked by broiling rolled up with garlic, parsley and oregano oregano (ərĕg`ənō), name for several herbs used for flavoring food. A plant of the family Labiatae (mint family), Origanum vulgare, . Her special crescent-shaped Easter bread In many European countries, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holiday. Italy In Sardinia, Italy, bread is apart of a wide social context. It is the most important food in Sardinia, as well as all over Italy and the Mediterranean. was flavored with anise anise (ăn`ĭs), annual plant (Pimpinella anisum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Mediterranean region but long cultivated elsewhere for its aromatic and medicinal qualities. and filled with ricotta ri·cot·ta n. 1. A soft Italian cheese that resembles cottage cheese. 2. A similar soft cheese made in the United States. and raisins. ``Her bread was unreal,'' raved Nello Di Domenico. ``She was still baking five loaves of bread at a time when she was 95. And she made the best rhubarb rhubarb: see buckwheat. rhubarb Any of several species of the genus Rheum (family Polygonaceae), especially R. rhaponticum (or R. rhabarbarum), a hardy perennial grown for its large, succulent, edible leafstalks. pie this side of the Mississippi.'' Yolanda Di Domenico was an expert at crocheting. She enjoyed going to Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. and played the slot machines. Di Domenico always carried a rosary and attended church every day for many years at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Encino. ``She had a green thumb. She would get a stick, put it in the ground and it would grow,'' Nello Di Domenico said. ``She had magic with food and magic with anything.'' Yolanda Di Vito was born on Nov. 5, 1904, in Abruzzi. She came to Chicago in 1919 and was married Feb. 11, 1923, to Salvatore Di Domenico. They lived in Chicago and Lombard, Ill., until they moved in 1960 to Encino. They had seven children including Josephine, Della, Salvatore, Fiore, Frank and Nello. Another son, Fiore, died at age 2. Di Domenico is survived by her sons, Frank and Nello; 15 grandchildren; and 27 great-grandchildren. A viewing was held Thursday at Lorenzen Mortuary in Reseda. A funeral Mass was held Friday at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. Burial will be today at Mount Carmel in Hillside, Ill. Donations in her memory may be made to breast cancer research. Holly Andres, (818) 713-3708 holly.andres(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: DI DOMENICO |
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