Tina (Mary) Fiorello, 84

Tina “Mary” Fiorello and her late husband Patrick in their 1929 Ford Model A. Photo courtesy Joe Fiorello.

Tina (Mary) Fiorello, 84, of Medford, Massachusetts and Sarasota, Florida and most recently of Rochester Hills, Michigan, died quietly and peacefully on December 9, 2009. The former Maria Catina DiFrancesco, she was born in Boston’s West End and lived there until her marriage to Patrick J. Fiorello in 1946.

Retired from the Medford Public School System where she headed the school lunch program for more than twenty years, she became active in community service. Mrs. Fiorello was a twenty year volunteer at Mote Marine Laboratory and also served as usher and greeter at the Sarasota Opera and The Players Theater in Sarasota. In Medford, she volunteered at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, St. James Parish and The Society of Santa Maria Order of the Sons of Italy. With vibrant green eyes and a winning smile, she was known to have a witty sense of humor and a charming and pleasant personality.

For many years, Tina, along with her husband Pat, hosted many national and international tours organized through Little Flower Travelers. They had a loyal following of more than a hundred former residents of Boston’s West End Club and their friends.

She was an avid baker and excellent cook and was known to graciously offer food as soon as one walked through her door. She hosted elaborate dinners and parties for family and friends, preparing amazing Italian specialties. Most of her family recipes were verbally handed down for many generations. She baked cookies and sweets almost every day of her long life. Always busy; gardening, crocheting and sewing were among her other favorite past times. Her most treasured role in life was that of mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

She was the daughter of the late Francesca (Di Gregorio) and the late Angelo Di Francesco of Boston, MA and Riesi, Sicily. She was the stepdaughter of the late John Cincotta. She is survived by her daughter, Patricia and her husband Alan Wittenbach; her son, Joe Fiorello and his partner Brian Hyde; her grandchildren Ann and Greg Ehlert and Christine and Jonathan Wood and four Great Grandchildren: Clara Wood, Sean Wood, Catina Ehlert and June Ehlert .
A memorial mass will be celebrated at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fiorello Family Charitable Fund at the Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington Street, Boston MA 02116.