The essential Gigi - A husband's perspective
April 8, 2021
by Steven Fine
I'll try here to capture the beautiful essence of the woman I've lived with and loved deeply for 37 years.
First and foremost, Gigi loved her family unconditionally and fiercely - her sons David and Scott, daughter in law Jess and future daughter in law Grace, grandchildren Meadow and Silas, and a small circle of close relatives and friends. Every holiday and even every weekend was an occasion to spoil the grandkids with a bucket of toys or new outfit.
A self-described “tough Italian chick from the Bronx”, her favorite words were those you can’t say in front of children or in polite company, and she could use them in a thousand ways, as part of a compliment or as part of a takedown.
Throughout her life, much of her time and energy was devoted to helping others, family and friends, with a wide range of things she excelled at – babysitting their children or pets, house projects, decorating a wall or a corner, organizing closets and drawers, picking outfits, cleaning.
She had an innate sense of style, and could turn an assortment of inexpensive clothing items and accessories into a fashion statement. It gave her great satisfaction to receive compliments from fashionable friends or strangers for outfits or shoes she picked up from Walmart, or PayLess.
Our residence has always been a master class in country chic, with intricate combinations of decorative items in every corner and on every wall, and with seasonal and holiday transformations that seem impossibly complex to others but effortless to her. Woven throughout are pieces from her favorite themes - plush and ceramic teddy bears and cats, Snoopy and Hello Kitty collectibles, and Yankee memorabilia.
She was an animal lover in the truest sense, often preferring the company of pets over humans. Animals instinctively sensed this, and would gravitate toward her in a roomful of people. Her happiest moments were curled up on a couch with a pair of cats or dogs in her lap vying for her affection.
Her physical beauty took my breathe away, from the first moment I saw her and throughout her life. She turned heads everywhere she went yet had absolutely no ego about it. The opposite, in fact, was true – she always thought people complimented her “to be nice”.
In the kitchen, she learned many of the old world Italian recipes from her parents and grandparents, and for years carried on the tradition of Sunday afternoon dinners with rigatoni and meatballs and sausage in her famous “gravy”.
I will feel the pain of her loss every day for the rest of my life.
First and foremost, Gigi loved her family unconditionally and fiercely - her sons David and Scott, daughter in law Jess and future daughter in law Grace, grandchildren Meadow and Silas, and a small circle of close relatives and friends. Every holiday and even every weekend was an occasion to spoil the grandkids with a bucket of toys or new outfit.
A self-described “tough Italian chick from the Bronx”, her favorite words were those you can’t say in front of children or in polite company, and she could use them in a thousand ways, as part of a compliment or as part of a takedown.
Throughout her life, much of her time and energy was devoted to helping others, family and friends, with a wide range of things she excelled at – babysitting their children or pets, house projects, decorating a wall or a corner, organizing closets and drawers, picking outfits, cleaning.
She had an innate sense of style, and could turn an assortment of inexpensive clothing items and accessories into a fashion statement. It gave her great satisfaction to receive compliments from fashionable friends or strangers for outfits or shoes she picked up from Walmart, or PayLess.
Our residence has always been a master class in country chic, with intricate combinations of decorative items in every corner and on every wall, and with seasonal and holiday transformations that seem impossibly complex to others but effortless to her. Woven throughout are pieces from her favorite themes - plush and ceramic teddy bears and cats, Snoopy and Hello Kitty collectibles, and Yankee memorabilia.
She was an animal lover in the truest sense, often preferring the company of pets over humans. Animals instinctively sensed this, and would gravitate toward her in a roomful of people. Her happiest moments were curled up on a couch with a pair of cats or dogs in her lap vying for her affection.
Her physical beauty took my breathe away, from the first moment I saw her and throughout her life. She turned heads everywhere she went yet had absolutely no ego about it. The opposite, in fact, was true – she always thought people complimented her “to be nice”.
In the kitchen, she learned many of the old world Italian recipes from her parents and grandparents, and for years carried on the tradition of Sunday afternoon dinners with rigatoni and meatballs and sausage in her famous “gravy”.
I will feel the pain of her loss every day for the rest of my life.