There are key moments in life you remember vividly. One was a cold day in December 1972 when I was pulled out of a high school assembly with the sad news that my beloved Grandma Nicotera had died. I still ache while recalling this and mourn her loss some 50 years later.

A traditional old-fashioned, several days’ wake and funeral Mass followed. They had to dedicate the entire funeral home in South Buffalo to my grandma. Hundreds of friends, loved ones and many others in the extended Italian community gathered to pay their respects and reminisce about all the joy and love she brought to their lives. They called her “Mim.”