Sadie DiLeo

Shakespeare might not have written the line,“Though she be but little, she is fierce” about Sadie DiLeo, but he might as well have, as anyone who was lucky enough to have known her could attest. She had a presence much larger than her petite frame would suggest, living each of her almost 90 years with bravery, grit, and plenty of sass..

Born Sadie LoNigro on January 27, 1933 in South Beach, she was a lifelong Staten Islander, settling in Rosebank with her husband of 42 years, Victor DiLeo, and later moving to Dongan Hills. She was a graduate of New Dorp High School, and worked as a librarian at the Staten Island New York Public Libraries and book mobile, remaining an avid reader throughout her life. In 1957, she married Victor, the love of her life and they had two children, Gus and Fran (Roperti).

She and Victor loved traveling through Europe, and would fondly reminisce on their trips to Greece and Italy, or as Sadie pronounced it, “It-ly.” Sadie was also skilled at knitting and embroidery, making beautiful handmade quilts and Christmas stockings for all of her children and grandchildren.

Her greatest joy was spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren (Christina Roperti, Sabrina DiLeo, Ava DiLeo, and Joseph Roperti). She was a constant fixture at school functions, dance recitals, basketball games, and graduations, always showing her grandchildren how proud she was of them and how much she loved them. Except during the Subway Series, when Sadie (ever the loyal Met's fan) would call her Yankee fan grandchildren to cheer whenever the Mets scored a run. Luckily, those calls were few and far between, as most Mets fans know. She was most recently proud to become a GiGi (great grandmother) to Harrison and Caroline Marsh.

Despite health issues, Sadie fought hard to be there for her family, famously saying, “God doesn’t want me, and the devil doesn’t want me either,” whenever she made it through a particularly rough patch. Despite these struggles, she always found ways to be involved in her grandchildren’s lives, whether it was lunch dates or timing her check-in calls to when she knew they had off or were commuting home, being sure to call whenever she got word of even a small cold.

In addition to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Sadie was a beloved mother-in-law to Greg Roperti and Marianne DiLeo, beloved sister to Rose Scappatori, Frank LoNigro and Joey LoNigro, and beloved stepsister to Sonny Palmese.

May we all be reminded how lucky we were to have known Sadie, and be inspired by her resilience, zest for life, and love of her family. She was truly larger than life, and the world will be a little less bright without her.