Diane M. Massucci

Diane (Samela) Massucci, beautiful daughter of the late Daniel and Vera Samela of Waterbury, died at her home Friday, September 8, 2023, in the arms and hands of her loving family after a graceful battle with cancer.

She leaves her eternal spirit in the hearts of her family, which was her life’s purpose, including her husband of 60 years, Francis Massucci, and her cherished children, Steven Massucci and his wife Maureen, Daniel Massucci and his wife Marcele, Kelly Cantillon and her husband John and Francis Massucci and his wife Kelly.

She lost her precious daughter, Lori Galvin, in 2016, losing part of her heart and soul that she has now finally found again in a glorious reunion.

She also leaves her life’s legacy, her 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren, Timothy Galvin and his wife Karen and their children Adeline and Liam, Michael Galvin and his wife Katie and their children Connor and Kylie, Steven Massucci and his wife Kristie and their children Natalie and Cameron, Elizabeth Ayotte and her husband Neal and their child Aiden, Jessica Tropea and her husband Nick and their child Sabrina, Daniel Massucci, Robert, Audrey and Kate Cantillon and Lucy, Madelyn and Norah Massucci. She also leaves her treasured siblings, Nicholas Samela, Daniel (Chucky) Samela, Andrea Young and Veronica (Ronnie) Kircheimer. She was predeceased by her loving sister and brother Margaret Dwyer and Carl Samela.

She was born in Waterbury, and from the start, her life was her family. She often reflected that she was helping raise family since she left the womb, helping alongside her sister Margie with her brothers and sisters from a very early age.

Her storied childhood growing up with her expanding family on the second floor of their Harpers Ferry Road home took her through her years at Anderson Grammar School and Wilby High, where she graduated in 1958.

She welcomed Lori into the world and committed at the same time to her pursuit of her Nursing License at Waterbury Hospital School of Nursing, where she graduated in 1961 and then worked proudly as a nurse, times she so often reminisced about throughout her life. She formed friendships during her work as a nurse that she would keep through her whole life, sharing lunch gatherings with the tight knit group right to this day. Her friend from those nursing years, Carrie Gwiazdowski, is her son Daniel’s Godmother.

She left her nursing career to devote her heart and soul to her family, building the foundation of her life upon countless traditions, holiday celebrations, family vacations and, most importantly, the endless gatherings arranged simply to share family, food and love. While committing her life to loving her family, she found so much beauty and joy sharing the creations of her many interests, hobbies and talents, including cooking her famous pasta sauce, baking delicious Italian cookies and desserts and hosting countless picnics and gatherings that she thoroughly enjoyed.

She loved sewing and crafts, making her own clothes for many years, making dresses for her family’s weddings and special occasions, writing storybooks about her family and her life and building doll houses from scratch for her family to cherish as personalized heartfelt decorations. Her creative talents extended to her work at her father-in-law’s flower shop, Gilbert’s Florist in New Britain and at Flowers by Sharp in Plainville, and she beautifully arranged the flowers throughout many years for weddings and special events for her children, family members and friends. She also worked proudly for several years as the office manager of her children's local accounting practice.

But her commitment and devotion throughout her life continued to be her family, helping care for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren for many years. Throughout her life, she enjoyed years of travel with her family, including venturing throughout Europe, visits to meet relatives in Italy, trips to the Caribbean Islands, journeys through the United States and always arranging very special Cape Cod and Rhode Island cottage vacations packed with family, food, music, beach time and nightly gatherings to simply relax and enjoy time together with her loved ones. Her commitment to her family extended to compassionate caregiving, caring for her mother Vera and her precious daughter Lori throughout their extended, difficult illnesses and up through their passings. Her life and the lives of her family were never the same after Lori’s passing, and it was the bonds of love she had formed with her family that gave her and all her family the strength to move forward.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the foundation Diane helped to form in Lori’s honor, Lori’s Truth, Inc., c/o Massucci & Associates, 648 Main Street, Plantsville, CT 06479.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 11 AM at St. Luke Catholic Parish at St. Dominic Church, 1050 Flanders Rd., Southington. Burial will be private. DellaVecchia Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St., Southington, is assisting with arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.dellavecchiasouthington.com