Elisa DiCenzo

Elisa DiCenzo, a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia, passed peacefully on June 21, 2024, surrounded by family. Elisa was born in 1922 in the town of Pettorano sul Gizio, within the Abruzzo region of Italy. She was the eleventh and final child of Anna Federico and Luigi Berarducci. Elisa was raised in the traditional and sometimes ancient ways of Italian living. She often spoke about walking up the mountains outside her town to pick olives and almonds or gather wood. She remembered carrying clothes to the Gizio River to do the wash by hand for her family. Her hometown was founded at least 1000 years ago as a fortress against invaders, as many Italian towns were. In 1941, Elisa moved to the larger neighboring town of Sulmona, where she worked in her cousin’s grocery shop. She stayed until the spring of 1943 when the American military bombed the town as part of the Allied war effort. Prior to the bombing the Americans dropped leaflets to warn the citizens. After a first bombing, Elisa returned to Pettorano, where she remained for the rest of World War II. In November 1943, the Axis powers evicted the inhabitants of Pettorano, and the townspeople fled to surrounding caverns and caves. When they were allowed to return a month later, her mother had become ill and died soon thereafter. A sister also died of illness before the war ended. In 1946, Elisa moved to the town of Molina Aterno with another sister, brother-in-law, and their children. In 1952, the extended family moved again to Pesco Costanzo. Elisa had wanted to learn fine dressmaking, and as she helped raise nieces and nephews within her family, she also realized she was interested in becoming a midwife. She attempted to receive training for one of these careers, but was unable to. All of this factored into her decision to make a change in her life. In August 1955, she embarked, literally, on her solo adventure of immigrating to the United States. She arrived on American soil by ship on September 2. A brother had sponsored her to live with his family in Boston, where she at first worked in the family’s restaurant. She later became a seamstress in a garment factory. In August 1958, she moved to Arlington where she married Nicholas DiCenzo, a cousin of her Boston roommate. They had a daughter and a son. As she raised her children, Elisa was first and foremost a homemaker but also worked part time in child care and in a school cafeteria. She was a loving and devoted wife to Nick, who died in 1982. Throughout her life but especially in later years, Elisa loved working in her garden and preparing special meals for family and other visitors she hosted. Some of her signature culinary preparations were homemade gnocchi, ravioli, pizza, sausages, pizzelle, and breads. On Christmas Eve she always made an array of seafood plus two traditional fried holiday treats of Abruzzo—savory, seasoned Crustole breads and sweet Ceci Ripieni stuffed pastry. She loved making garments for babies—booties, caps, blankets, and jackets. Several years ago, she was thrilled to be honored by Virginia Hospital Center for her volunteer work creating many of these items for babies in the neonatal ward of that hospital. She also enjoyed sewing her own clothing and helping friends with clothing alterations. One notable sewing project Elisa took on was alterations for Mrs. Gore when she was Second Lady of the United States. Although Elisa only had the opportunity to receive an elementary school education, she loved to learn, read, and have new experiences. She enjoyed word puzzles and biographies of prominent women. And she liked watching musicals from Hollywood’s heyday, especially those with dancer Cyd Charisse. She adored traveling to visit family members. She was happiest when she could do something for others. Elisa developed many deep and lasting friendships. Over the years she was known as Nana, Nanny, Mrs. D, and Ms. Elisa to several wonderful children she helped care for. And she had many devoted friends of all ages whom she adored and who adored her back. Elisa is survived by her daughter Margherita (Jason) Harrington of Arlington, her son Louis (Nina) DiCenzo of Los Angeles, California, and several nieces and nephews—as well as numerous great-nieces and great-nephews in the United States, Canada, Italy, and Venezuela. She was a very proud grandmother to Nicholas DiCenzo and Jason (Jana) Harrington II, and was a great grandmother to Kayla and Kai. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the children’s charity of your choice.