Grace L. Rossi Zyck (nee Granato) died this week at the age of 102 and was the last child of the original settlers to Little Italy (Alta Villa) in 1915.

The Granato family was one of the five original families of Alta Villa. Roger Rossi, her son, discovered our website and corresponds from Illinois. Two of his aunts were born in Little Italy: Angie and Mary Granato.

They did very well until the prohibition. Grace's father did not want his family to starve, so he decided to move back to Chicago in 1922 with his oldest son Tony and his oldest daughter Grace and lived with a cousin until he started working for Sherwin Williams.

After a year, he rented a house in Chicago then moved the rest of his family from Arkansas. The following year he made an arrangement with the Crosariol family to trade houses. In 1925 the Crosariol family moved into the farm in Arkansas and the Granato family moved into the house in Roseland. Grace was the last living child of Lorenzo Granato.

May she rest in the peace of Christ. + See our PHOTOS section for images of Grace and the Granato family.

Source: Little Italy Arkansas