FAMILY REMEMBERS 'STRONG-WILLED LADY' LUCY ACTIS, 97, PASSED AWAY DEC. 3.Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - Skilled in the domestic arts, Lucy Actis will be remembered by her family for her quiet strength. Actis, who was born in Italy and lived in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. for 62 years, died Dec. 3 in Northridge. She was 97. ``She was a plain, simple, down-to-earth lady. She was always making something. We always had knitted slippers for Christmas,'' said Terri Perry, the eldest of her three granddaughters. ``We loved her homemade gnocchi gnoc·chi pl.n. Dumplings made of flour, semolina, or potatoes, boiled or baked and served with grated cheese or a sauce. [Italian, pl. and ravioli. There are no breadsticks that match her homemade ones. It wasn't a chore to her to sew, knit, crochet or cook. ``She showed her love for us by making things for us.'' Perry recalled the times when she and her sisters spent the night with their paternal grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl . In the afternoons, when their grandfather was taking a nap, Actis sang to them in Italian as the girls sat in the porch swing. Actis, who had worked as a seamstress in Los Angeles' garment district The Garment District is a store in Cambridge, MA and is well known for its Dollar-A-Pound clothing store. The Garment District started out as an offshoot of Harbor Textiles, a textile company which produced wiping cloths for industry that began in the late 1940s. , also enjoyed sewing matching outfits for her granddaughters when they were growing up. ``She was a very proficient knitter and crocheter. She made our girls sweaters and clothes. She almost always had a crochet hook in her hand,'' said daughter-in-law Marietta Actis. ``She loved people and her family was the biggest thing in her life.'' Lucy Francone was born July 30, 1907, in Bosconero, Italy. She immigrated 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 1914 with her mother, sister and two brothers, joining their father who had come earlier. She married John A. Actis in 1930. He died in 1982. Actis was a member of several Italian-American clubs in her younger years. Later, she enjoyed the senior groups at Roman Catholic churches List of Roman Catholic Churches
She liked to play canasta canasta: see rummy. canasta Form of rummy, using two full decks, in which players or partnerships try to meld groups of three or more cards of the same rank and score bonuses for seven-card melds. and other card games. When her eyesight began to fail when she was in her 80s, Actis became a Dodgers fan, listening to their games on the radio. ``She was a strong-willed lady. She had to fend for herself when she was a child because her mother died in 1918,'' Marietta Actis said. ``She was conservative and quite a lady.'' Her son, John Actis, said one of his mother's dishes he will remember is 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. dolce, a sweet, lemon-flavored polenta that was cut into squares and fried. ``My mother did what she could for her family. She lived through the Depression and never took anything for granted,'' he said. ``Having company or visiting family would put a smile on her face.'' In addition to her son John, Actis is survived by her three granddaughters and six great-grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Friday at Mission Hills Catholic Mortuary Chapel. Actis was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese since 1800, and is located at 11160 Stranwood Avenue in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, California, near the Mission San Fernando Rey de España. . Donations in her memory can be made to cancer and heart research. Holly Andres, (818) 713-3708 holly.andres(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Lucy Actis of Northridge passed away Dec. 3 at the age of 97. |
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