Obituary of Nancy Chiaro

Nancy Chiaro, age 97, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2018, in Reston, VA, where she lived for 16 years following the death of her beloved husband Joseph. Born on March 1, 1921, in Gioia dei Marsi, Abruzzo, Italy, she immigrated with her family to New York City later that year. In the late 1930s, her family opened a grocery store and moved from New York to Yonkers, NY, where Nancy lived for 60 years. The daughter of Maurizio and Giacinta Giannantoni, Nancy married Joseph Chiaro on December 7, 1941 (a date which will live in infamy), and honeymooned in Washington, D.C. Nancy and Joe were married for 60 years, until his passing in 2002. She is survived by three children, Joseph Chiaro (Jody) of Reston, VA; Robert Chiaro (Christina) of Brewster, NY; and Lorraine Serra (Frank) of Stony Creek, CT; five grandchildren (Erin Chiaro, Jill Quinn, Sean Chiaro, Lauren Callahan and Kyle Serra) and seven great-grandchildren (Payton and Dylan Chiaro, Nicholas Chiaro, Gavin and Lucas Quinn, and Keira and Alaina Callahan). Besides her husband Joseph, Nancy is predeceased by her two sisters, Flora Braia of Pawling, NY and Dina Santilli of Rome, Italy; her brother, Costantino (Gus) of Yonkers, NY and her son-in-law, Frank Serra. Nancy graduated from Yorkville High School, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in 1938, and attended a millinery school in New York City. She was an expert seamstress and worked for several years at the Oak Dress Shop in Yonkers. She was employed for about 30 years by the Yonkers Board of Education, in the school cafeteria at PS 18. A parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, Nancy was a member of the St. Ann's Sodality. Throughout her life, Nancy delighted in being surrounded by her family and friends. She took great pleasure in preparing vast and traditional Italian feasts for holidays that are the source of many of our fondest memories. A service will be held on June 16, 2018, from 9-11 am at Sinatra Memorial Home, 499 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, NY. Interment to follow immediately afterwards at St. Joseph Cemetery, also in Yonkers. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Nancy's name to the charity of your choice.