Julia Vitale Caforio October 28 1914 to July 13, 2016 Where do I begin? Ill start out by saying that my grandmother was one of the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful strong women I have ever met in my entire lifetime, she was the glue to our family. That is why I named my daughter Julia after her. My fondest memory of my grandmother was that she sacrificed so much for her daughters, her grandchildren & her great grandchildren she was ALWAYS there no matter what. I used to love the nicknames that my grandparents called each other she would call him boss and he would call her jew. I never once heard them fight and they were married for 72 years before my pop died, to me that is amazing. They were the perfect couple and I always looked up to them as my role models. I remember when Kody was born, she was so excited she wanted me to bring him over there so she could hold him all the time. When Mikey was born it was exactly the same, she would always sit on her porch and when I would come with them she would immediately get up and make them pastina and tell me to make sure that I always filled their bellages. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone, she was very soft spoken but when she spoke you listened, she was very old fashioned and I loved that about her. We would sit for hours and she would tell me about the old days which were something I loved to hear about. She was an excellent seamstress and always did things to perfection. One thing that you would never see her without was her COFFEE, she must have had 15 cups a day, she used to tell me that was her secret of living a long life and boy did she live one almost 102 years old. When I was sick through the years she would always be by my side and make everything better with all her wonderful soups and whenever I was upset I could just run next door and always had someone to talk to, she was a great listener and advice giver. She always made us a big priority in her life and would make sure that we were very well taken care of. My dad left when I was 5, so basically my grandparents took over and they did a wonderful job, helping my mom and caring for us all. Growing up right next door to your grandparents was the best thing that any child could ask for. In the mornings every day before school she would make me potatoes and eggs!!!! Me, mom and Charlie were always there. Sundays and Wednesdays for years were always the macaroni days.. that was when everyone would come to her house and we would enjoy her spectacular cooking, she could make anything you asked for and it always came out to perfection. Rosie was never much of a cook so I always ran to grandmas to eat! Her pasta fasule, stuffed artichokes, zuchinni patties, broccoli rabe, meatballs with raisins & escarole & beans were the best ever!!! She would always make Charlies his favorite whenever he asked which was Ox Tails. She loved to be down the shore, the last 2 weeks in July every year were reserved for our family and boy did we have so many good times, poppie and Charlie would go crabbing and gram would make her famous crabs n spaghetti gravy, everyone in the family would run to come and get some! She loved taking walks on the boardwalk and playing all the stands, especially the candy stands. She would bring me with her and always buy me a jelly apple or ice cream. I can remember as far back as her pushing me in the carriage up to the boardwalk, I could still hear the crackling of sand underneath the wheels of the carriage as we went down the sidewalk towards the boardwalk. As Italians always do, our whole family lived within 1 block of each other. Her sister and brother lived right across the street from us. My cousins and Aunt and Uncle around the block. Every October back in the 70s My Uncle Arthur which was her brother would rake big piles of leaves and all of us would go down to the end of 11th street at dusk and sit there and watch the bonfire as the leaves went up in smoke! Till this day when I smell that familiar smell it brings me right back to that memory, which for some reason is so dear to my heart. I think it was because the presence of so much family made me feel so secure. Everyone remembers holidays at Rosies house!! Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and Easters every single year, my grandmother had so many brothers and sisters it was one big party and so much fun, these are the best memories anyone could ask for. The past 3 years have been very hard on my mom and I have to give her a lot of credit, she really took care of her mom and her mom knows she was always there. For those of you who did not know, my grandmother was bed ridden for the past 3 years and in the end had very bad bedsores, but still always managed to sing and put a smile on her face every time we went there. She would hug Kody and Mikey so tight, you wouldnt think woman that was so frail could have such a strong hug. My grandmother battled breast cancer and intestinal cancer and beat the odds!!! She lost her daughter Dolores 19 years ago. She was so strong. Towards the end all she did was call out for me and my mom. We were both there with her last Wednesday holding her hand when she took her last breathe and she went very peacefully which I am thankful for. Just In case anyone is wondering why I am wearing this beautiful vibrant color to my grandmothers funeral instead of black which is how I feel right now. is because it was her favorite color. As I rummaged through all the pictures of all the great memories I have had with my grandmother through the past 50 years of seeing her almost every single day and as the tears streamed down my face for the loss that my heart is feeling right now, I am grateful to have had her in my life for this long, it was so hard to see her suffering in the end and know that there was absolutely nothing you could do for a woman who ALWAYS made sure that you didnt. Thank you for all you did for me in my life grandma, you were the glue that kept our family together always, there is now a big hole in my heart that will never be filled, but I will hang on to all the good times and memories that you brought into my life. Rest in peace you are no longer in pain & you are with poppie, Aunt Dori & Julia Rose now Until we meet again in heavenI LOVE YOU.