Obituary for Evelyn Ghiorzi (Viole)
Evelyn Ghiorzi passed away on August 2nd, 2022 in Highland Beach Florida where she permanently moved in 2019 after maintaining a vacation home there for over 30 years. She was a born and bred New Yorker, who claimed the borough of Brooklyn as her birthplace along with her brothers Ray and Willie, who predeceased her, when her parents Filomena and John Viole emigrated there from their native country of Italy. Evelyn always considered New York home, and often wondered why her beloved Dodgers decided to leave such a great place. She rooted for the Yankees when she realized the Dodgers were never coming back.
After graduating from high school Evelyn went into banking. She left her career behind after marrying G. John Ghiorzi, her beloved husband of 59 years, who died in 2008. She and John never left New York during their long and happy marriage, but raised their four children there while living in Brooklyn, Eastchester, and finally Bronxville together. One of her final requests before dying was that she be buried in Bronxville Cemetery next to her husband. Her memorial mass is being held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bronxville on August 12th at 10:45 am with internment immediately following. Evelyn is survived by her four children, Lida Ghiorzi of Stamford, CT, Loretta Deierlein of Ardmore, PA, John Ghiorzi (Terry) of Norfolk, VA, and Paul Ghiorzi of New York, New York. She maintained a warm and loving relationship with her children until the day she died. She is also survived by her grandchildren, who she was so proud of, Andrea Deierlein, Valerie Flax (Jon), Jesse Ghiorzi (Chelsea), Christian Ghiorzi and Michael Ghiorzi. She was equally proud of and cherished her 4 great-grandchildren, Nathan, Theo and Miles Flax, and Cecelia Ghiorzi.
After dedicating herself to raising her children, Evelyn attended The College of New Rochelle where she studied a liberal arts curriculum. She was a lifelong learner, and had so many interests. She was an excellent bridge player, an avid puzzler (crosswords, word jumbles, jigsaws, Sudoku, you name it), and it was very hard for anyone to beat her at Scrabble, and everyone knew never to interrupt her when she was watching her favorite TV show “Jeopardy”. You were allowed to say a word or two when “Wheel of Fortune” came on. She loved to read and was part of a book club in Highland Beach. She was a frequent visitor to the library in both New York and Florida, and also worked at the Tuckahoe High School library for a number of years. She loved to cook and frequently made her favorite dishes for family and friends. Her family attributes these pursuits as part of the reason as to why she kept her sharp and inquisitive mind until the day she died.
Although much can be said of Evelyn’s dedication to family and her sharp intellect, it would be amiss to not mention the many, many friendships she made over her lifetime. Many of her friendships were made because she took such an active role in the communities she lived in. She was an active volunteer at the Generoso Pope Foundation in Tuckahoe, New York. She was a member of the St. Lucy Council of Catholic Women in Highland Beach, and also a member for years of the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. She and John volunteered at Florida Atlantic University which enabled them to audit courses for free, which she considered a great perk! She was a dedicated and loyal friend, and it was not uncommon for her to have friends that she actively kept in touch with from decades ago. After her death one of her friends called to express her condolences and sadness, and she said that she had been friends with Evelyn for 90 years, since kindergarten. How many people can lay claim to that kind of friendship? The funny thing is that if you were her friend for 90 years or 90 days it didn’t matter. Once you were her friend she showered you with her warmth, caring and love. Evelyn will be sorely missed by her family and all her friends. Evelyn was only about 5 feet and barely weighed 100 pounds, but her kindergarten friend of 90 years wanted her family and friends to know how Evelyn was thought of. She said to please tell everyone that she may have been small, but she was mighty!
After graduating from high school Evelyn went into banking. She left her career behind after marrying G. John Ghiorzi, her beloved husband of 59 years, who died in 2008. She and John never left New York during their long and happy marriage, but raised their four children there while living in Brooklyn, Eastchester, and finally Bronxville together. One of her final requests before dying was that she be buried in Bronxville Cemetery next to her husband. Her memorial mass is being held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bronxville on August 12th at 10:45 am with internment immediately following. Evelyn is survived by her four children, Lida Ghiorzi of Stamford, CT, Loretta Deierlein of Ardmore, PA, John Ghiorzi (Terry) of Norfolk, VA, and Paul Ghiorzi of New York, New York. She maintained a warm and loving relationship with her children until the day she died. She is also survived by her grandchildren, who she was so proud of, Andrea Deierlein, Valerie Flax (Jon), Jesse Ghiorzi (Chelsea), Christian Ghiorzi and Michael Ghiorzi. She was equally proud of and cherished her 4 great-grandchildren, Nathan, Theo and Miles Flax, and Cecelia Ghiorzi.
After dedicating herself to raising her children, Evelyn attended The College of New Rochelle where she studied a liberal arts curriculum. She was a lifelong learner, and had so many interests. She was an excellent bridge player, an avid puzzler (crosswords, word jumbles, jigsaws, Sudoku, you name it), and it was very hard for anyone to beat her at Scrabble, and everyone knew never to interrupt her when she was watching her favorite TV show “Jeopardy”. You were allowed to say a word or two when “Wheel of Fortune” came on. She loved to read and was part of a book club in Highland Beach. She was a frequent visitor to the library in both New York and Florida, and also worked at the Tuckahoe High School library for a number of years. She loved to cook and frequently made her favorite dishes for family and friends. Her family attributes these pursuits as part of the reason as to why she kept her sharp and inquisitive mind until the day she died.
Although much can be said of Evelyn’s dedication to family and her sharp intellect, it would be amiss to not mention the many, many friendships she made over her lifetime. Many of her friendships were made because she took such an active role in the communities she lived in. She was an active volunteer at the Generoso Pope Foundation in Tuckahoe, New York. She was a member of the St. Lucy Council of Catholic Women in Highland Beach, and also a member for years of the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. She and John volunteered at Florida Atlantic University which enabled them to audit courses for free, which she considered a great perk! She was a dedicated and loyal friend, and it was not uncommon for her to have friends that she actively kept in touch with from decades ago. After her death one of her friends called to express her condolences and sadness, and she said that she had been friends with Evelyn for 90 years, since kindergarten. How many people can lay claim to that kind of friendship? The funny thing is that if you were her friend for 90 years or 90 days it didn’t matter. Once you were her friend she showered you with her warmth, caring and love. Evelyn will be sorely missed by her family and all her friends. Evelyn was only about 5 feet and barely weighed 100 pounds, but her kindergarten friend of 90 years wanted her family and friends to know how Evelyn was thought of. She said to please tell everyone that she may have been small, but she was mighty!