Obituary: Primiani, Maria Giuseppa Pistilli

Age 104

Sun., Dec. 28, 2014

PRIMIANI, Maria Giuseppa Pistilli (Age 104) Maria passed away Wednesday, December 24, 2014.

She was born on September 12, 1910 in Vinchiaturo, Campobasso in the region of Molise, Italy.

Maria married Bernardino Primiani in October 1925 at the age of 15.

In 1948, Maria, her husband and their second daughter, Anna, immigrated to Canada where the family grew with the birth of their son, Frank.

Maria and Bernardino’s eldest child, Pasqualina, married and remained in Italy at that time.

In May 1953, the family moved to Spokane to live on the family farm with Anna Murante, Maria’s twice-widowed mother.

In 1957, Maria and her family relocated to a home in nearby Hillyard where they lived happily for 38 years.

Maria found pleasure through working in her beautiful and bountiful garden from which she preserved and cooked delicious food.

She could make anything grow.

She also took pleasure in crocheting lovely blankets and pillows of which she often gifted to friends and family.

She was a wonderful hostess entertaining countless friends and family at their home.

Known as a wonderful cook, her simple old-country recipes still survive as family favorites.

Bernardino passed away on November 26, 1960 at the age of 58, and in 1995 Maria moved back to the family farm to live with her daughter and son-in-law; the same farm where she first resided upon coming to the U.S. She was happy to return there and lived amoungst her family for the last 19 years of her life.

Maria is survived by her two children: her daughter, Anna Primiani and her son, Frank Primiani; eight grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Maria was a very special woman who was much loved.

She enjoyed simple pleasures in life: music, dancing, good food, and good jokes.

Her love of these simple pleasures no doubt added to the longevity she enjoyed.

She possessed a wonderful sense of humor and was sharp until her death.

She will be missed, but many of her special traits live on through her family and serve as a lasting legacy of her incredible post-World War II Italian immigrant history.

A Memorial Service for Maria will be held at Hennessey Funeral Home & Crematory on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at 10 am.

Please visit Maria’s online memorial page at www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com to leave the family a message of condolence.

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