Antoinette Delcollo

Antoinette DelCollo, 93, of Reading, died April 7, 2008 at home surrounded by loving family.

Her husband Joseph "Tattone" DelCollo, died November 21, 1997.

Born in Popoli, Italy, she was a daughter of the late Gaetano and Arcangiola (Cafarelli) Antonucci and arrived in Ellis Island in 1918. She was a devoted member of St. Catharine of Siena Roman Catholic Church, Exeter Twp.

She is survived by her daughter, Ann Louise DelCollo, Cumru Twp., and her son, Joseph DelCollo, Charleston, SC, and four grandchildren, Jennifer Stevens, Mohnton, Andrea Funk, Sinking Spring, Sarah DelCollo, Tyler, TX and Joseph J. DelCollo, Greenville, SC; as well as seven great-grandchildren, Ava DelCollo, Kathleen Stevens, Andrew Stevens, Benjamin Stevens, Bailey Funk, Madeline Funk and Julian Funk. Three sisters, Hilda Testa, Pottstown, Clara and Yolanda both of Florida; and one brother, Joseph Antonucci, Reading also survive her.

Antoinette (Nona) was a gifted artist who filled her home with paintings and a generous cook who piled her friends' plates high with pizelles and biscotti. She began cooking for others at the mom and pop grocery store she ran with Tattone for thirty years, serving spaghetti and meatballs to the people of West Lawn. Nona was a passionate woman with a zest for life. She lived in Paris with Tattone and her daughter Ann's family and later traveled the world from Israel to the Great Wall of China. Although Nona only completed the eighth grade, it was her strong drive and ambition that saw her children and grandchildren through college and beyond, and Nona herself joined Exeter High School art classes well into her eighties. She had a special love of babies and animals. Nona was the center of a loving family who cherish her memory in joy, peace, and gratitude.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday at 10 a.m. in St. Catharine of Siena Church, 4975 Boyertown Pike. Burial will be in Gethsemane Cemetery. Friends may call Friday from 9 to 10 a.m. in the church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Catharine of Siena R. C. Church 2427 Perkiomen Avenue, Mt. Penn, PA 19606. Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., West Reading is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhome.com.