Edna (Falciglia) Panaggio

Edna Panaggio, 94, of Cranston, passed away on Monday, February 28, 2022, at St. Elizabeth’s Home in East Greenwich.  She was the beloved wife of the late Pasquale Panaggio, Jr. for 30 years. Born in Providence, Edna was the daughter of the late Thomas and Amelia (Caldarone) Falciglia.

Edna lived a diverse, busy, and purposeful life devoted to God and family. Her lifelong passion was acting and theater. On many occasions she opened her home to beloved friends in need and kept busy with her decades long career as a model, actress and acting coach. She started performing as a child on radio ads and eventually moved to classical and comedy stage productions. While living in Baltimore she was active in local theater and had many roles in musical comedies such as Fiddler on the Roof. She was active in E&P Productions & cabaret.  She earned SAG/AFTRA status in 1984 and joining the Union booked jobs in National and Regional commercials and small roles in movies. After moving back to RI, she worked in the New England area as a talent agent reporting back to contacts in Boston and New York. She thoroughly enjoyed teaching acting to young hopefuls for the Donahue Modeling & Acting Agency and donated much of her time charitably to her church as a Lector, CCD instruction, and various women’s groups.  She was also an avid writer. In 2010 she self-published an autobiographical book about her acting excursions and life as a grandmother and servant to God entitled ‘Fiddling Through the Wilderness’.

She is survived by her loving children, Christin Cronan of West Warwick, and David Panaggio of Lexington, KY and brother Thomas Falciglia of Cranston, RI.  She was the loving grandmother of Jesse Cronan, Molly Oliveira and her husband Derek of Danielson, CT, Colin Cronan and his wife Kara of North Providence, RI, and Caleb Cronan of New York, NY.  She leaves behind one great grandchild, Jade Oliveira.

Her funeral will be held from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME & Crematory, 1278 Park Avenue, Cranston on Friday at 10 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Mary’s Church, Cranston at 11 a.m.  VISITING HOURS are on Thursday from 2-5 p.m. Burial will take place in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.