PIERINA DIGIACOMI LIFE STORY
December 3, 1925 – July 24, 2020
Pierina DiGiacomi was born on December 3rd, 1925 in Civitanova Marche, Italy. She was the first born child of Pasqualina Pierluigi and Nazzareno Ripari and was followed by two younger siblings, Gino and Giannina. Because her mother worked outside of the home, Pierina was in charge of the household. She did the shopping, cooking cleaning and all other matters related to the household. The family struggled to make ends meet and she lived a very simple life.
Pierina had two dresses, one for weekdays and the other for church and special occasions. Every so often she would ask her mother for a new dress. Since money was tight, her mother would ignore her request. Eventually her mother would buy her fabric for a dress and say “if you can sew it, you will have a dress, if not you will have nothing”. At that time, she did not know how to sew. Pierina was offered and accepted a dress making apprenticeship by a young widow named Rosina. The arrangement was both convenient and worked well for both, since Pierina’s parents were renting a flat in the same house where Rosina lived. Pierina simply walked across the hall and she was at work.
Pierina was a young teen when war broke out. Since most men were at war, she took a job working at Cecchetti, a factory, which was converted to produce weapons during the war. She worked rotating 12-hour shifts making bomb detonators. She was an italian “bomb girl”. Her goal was to earn enough money to purchase a Singer Sewing Machine. At some point, due to the proximity of her house (which backed on to the railway tracks), and the imminent threat of bombing, the family was forced to evacuate their home. Pierina lived with her aunt in the country, while other family members lived elsewhere. The family was able to return home once the threat had subsided. When the war was over, she was able to purchase a used Singer Sewing Machine from her earnings at Cecchetti.
The first time Pierina laid eyes on her future husband Enegitto, was the day he returned from war. He had been away for six years, and his family had not heard from him. He had just stepped off a train and was making his way home. He flagged a young man on a bike and asked him to alert his mother that he was on his way home. His mother had no food in the house and asked the neighbours for help. Once the neighbours heard that he was returning home, they lined the street, cheered and celebrated. Pierina was one of those neighbours. Once Enegitto regained some sort of normalcy, he met Pierina. After a five-year courtship they married. It was a very small wedding as Pierina’s father had passed away several months earlier. She wore a dark green dress (her favorite colour) that she designed and sewed. About a year and a half later Sauro, her son was born. Several years later, she and Sauro joined Enegitto in Toronto and commenced a new life in Canada. A few years later Mary was born and Rosi followed.
Pierina was an incredible woman and wonderful mother. She was beautiful, artistic, and very creative. Her creativity could be seen in all the beautiful dresses that she sewed and the wonderful dishes and meals that she prepared. She truly was a perfectionist. She was kind, compassionate and patient. She was tireless and did everything possible to help her family. She was a great mother, grandmother and great grandmother. We will miss her dearly and she will be forever in our hearts.
Grazie madre, sei stato incredibile, ti vogliamo molto bene
