Angelina (Girardi) DeFilippo

They named her Angelina, “little angel” because they knew at first glance she was special.  Surrounded by her loving family, our angel, Angelina (Girardi) DeFilippo, 86, peacefully gained her wings on April 7, 2022.

Born on March 25, 1936 in Prata Sannita, Caserta, Italy, Angelina was the beloved daughter of Pasquale and Vincenza (Cardillo) Girardi.  At the age of 17, Angie immigrated to the United States with her family and settled in Cranston, RI.

The loving wife of the late Vincent DeFilippo, Angie leaves behind her greatest source of pride and joy, her family.  She was the devoted mother of Donna Giarrusso and her husband Steven, Lori-Ann Carlino and her husband Mario, all of Cranston, and Gina Hebert of Fort Myers, FL.; cherished nana of Dawn Giarrusso, Stephanie Kaffenberger, Christina Lombardo, Kayla Holbrook, Brianna Carlino and Angelica Gardner; adored great-grandmother of seven.  She was the dear sister of the late Elisabetta Testa and her late husband Americo, Assunta Feole and her husband Leo, and Dolores Lisi and her late husband Frank.

On earth, Angie was a true servant of God who touched the lives of all she met. She embodied the spirit of Christ by attending daily mass and praying the Rosary multiple times a day for her family, friends and even those she never met who were in need of God’s grace. Angie took great pride in being one of the founders of the Santa Maria di Prata Society and president of the Women’s Auxiliary for 12 years where she devoted her time and energy to the Blessed Mother whom she loved and revered. She organized and helped cook for the annual festival in honor of La Madonna di Prata and famous St. Joseph’s polenta dinner, both in an effort to raise money to support various organizations.  Angie volunteered her time at the Cranston Senior Center working with Alzheimer’s patients and St. Rocco’s Church teaching CCD to young parishioners. She was also a member of St. Charles’ Prayer Group and Ministry volunteering to serve food to those in need.

Throughout her life, Angie made multiple spiritual journeys. One of her most cherished was her holy pilgrimage to Medjugorje where she took a picture of the famous wooden cross and captured an apparition of the face of Jesus with two doves next to it representing the Holy Spirit. In an attempt to spread the word of God, she made and distributed thousands of copies to everyone she knew.  Angie also traveled to the Vatican multiple times and met the unassuming Mother Theresa of Calcutta who bestowed a blessing upon her in the airport in Rome.

In her earlier years, Angie and her late husband, Vinny owned Father and Son’s Cafe in the Silver Lake area of Providence, and later in life opened Faith Restaurant and Catering in the Atwood Medical Building in Johnston, RI for 20 years.

One of Angie’s favorite pastimes was playing bocce with her society members. She was the proud bocce champion of the Cranston Senior Center Senior Olympic Games alongside her sister, lifelong best friend and Macy’s bargain shopping partner, Susie.

Angie loved spending time caring and cooking for her family and others, making people laugh at her silly antics and practical jokes, and overall enjoying every aspect of life.  Put quite simply, Angie exuded love, and people naturally gravitated to her because they found in her a friend, confidant and spiritual guide. Even when she could no longer speak, she continued to demonstrate her love and affection by squeezing and kissing people’s hands, blowing them kisses, giving thumbs up and patting her heart. Angie was a beacon of light in this world and will be dearly missed by those fortunate enough to have met her.

Funeral from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME & Crematory, 1278 Park Ave., Cranston on Monday at 10:00 am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am in St. Rocco’s Church, Johnston. Burial will follow in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston. VISITING HOURS will be held on Sunday from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org) P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.