Eulogy
Read by Gary Ellis - Grandson - Son of daughter Angela
My Nonna, Maria Eufemia was born on the 13th of December 1925 in S’Eufemia d’Aspromonte, Reggio Calabria, Italy. She was the daughter of Giuseppe & Angela Tripodi, and came from a large loving family.
Nonna was affectionately known as Femia to all her loved ones.
At the age of 16 she married Antonio, who she lovingly called Nino.
Together they had 7 children Domenica, Angela, Pasquale, Giuseppe, Maria, Cosmo and Francesca. In 1957, while she was pregnant with Maria, Nonno migrated to Australia to prepare a home for his family.
Two years later the family was reunited in Adelaide where they eventually settled into their family home in Salisbury Plains.
While Nonno worked 2 jobs, Nonna did the most important job of all… bringing up their children, whilst tending to the market garden & glass houses. Uncle Cosmo said that Nonna hardly owned anything but somehow managed to look like she had everything.
Nonna was very proud to see all of her children get married and have families of their own. She was blessed with 34 Grandchildren and 19 Great Grandchildren.
I remember Nonna coming to visit my daughter Kayla the day after she was born and she asked to take her home. Her love for her children and grandchildren was to be admired.
Sadly, in 1990, Nonno passed away. Nonna continued living in their home where all of her family would regularly visit and enjoy special times together.
Her peaceful, loving nature was admired by all and her hospitality was more than generous. No matter who entered her home, they were treated like family and you would rarely leave without some sort of fruit and veg to take home.
She never wanted to put anyone out… When we visited her she would be very aware of the time and would suggest going home before it got dark… As she rarely travelled far from home... even if you lived fifteen minutes away she would always say that you came all that way and would ensure she didn’t take up all of your time…
Nonna had lots and lots of pets that tasted really good. Her favourite pets were her chickens. One day Uncle Pat went to visit to find her very upset because one of her chickens had gone missing. The next day he caught her by surprise and found her in the kitchen stirring the missing chicken in a pot. That chicken never went missing again.
Nonna was most content when she was feeding her family. As soon as she heard the car hit the gravel driveway, she would be at her pantry getting food out for us. (Julie) She seemed to have a bottomless pantry and whether you were hungry or not, you’d find yourself sitting around the table eating, and she didn’t know the meaning of ‘I’m on a diet’.
I remember often going there after school with my brother (Peter) and sister (Julie) and she would always have chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. Although we couldn’t speak Italian, we all learnt how to say boscotti and beve very quickly.
There would always be almonds and chick peas to complement our meal... not to mention the box of scotch finger biscuits. One of my cousin’s (Kristie) said that every time she eats an almond, drinks a glass of lemonade or dips her bread in the bottom of a bowl of salad, she thinks of Nonna. Another cousin said that Hazelnut chocolate and ‘Nonna’s holy cheese’ will forever make her think of Nonna.
Another cousin (Tracy) remembers having many family dinners and lunches at Nonna’s... She said that they often ended up talking about who's photo was the most kissed by Nonna…… Uncle Joe's photo was unrecognizable because it had that much slobber over it.
Our conversations were limited due to the language barrier, but we still managed to communicate using hand gestures and saying English words with an Italian accent. For example, Lemonada, or Nota Homa plus many more… Most times we ended up just laughing at each other. (Tracy) We will never forget the excitement of her saying the occasional word in English though. (Steph)
She didn’t speak much English but she understood more than she let on.
We remember the jokes (normally rude ones told by me) around our dinner table. Nonna would always somehow know the right time to laugh. And her contagious laugh made us laugh even more. (Julie)
Nonna loved seeing our children and holding them as babies. The sound of "Koo Koo" rings in my sister’s (Joanne) ears as she fondly remembers the sweet sound Nonna would make with her arms out and a big smile on her face whenever she saw her small grandchildren or great grandchildren.
In her final days, and even though she could barely talk, it was special to see her teach her youngest great grandsons Orlando and Ethan how to make that sound, smiling as she enjoyed hearing it repeated back to her.
Another memory I think we all have is visiting Nonna on our birthday. We don’t know how it got there or how long it had been there, but she would pull a twenty dollar note from her bra and give it to you with a big Happy Birthday kiss. If you were lucky, you might have even got a fifty. (Joanne)
Nonna was a woman of unwavering faith, attending church every Sunday until her heath no longer permitted.
She taught her family the most valuable lesson in life and that is the love of Jesus, and how He was the centre of her life… Her faith was incredibly inspiring… No matter what hardship she was going through, Jesus always remained the centre…
Aunty Francesca said that she will forever be grateful for how Nonna taught her the value of Jesus in her life, and that there was no greater gift she could have given.
We often watched Nonna walk down the corridor of her home then stop at the picture of Jesus on the wall and kiss it for at least a minute with sound effects and all. The amount of lip prints on that picture was impressive.
Nonna didn’t drive, and so she relied on her family to help her get to appointments, the shops and events. My Aunties and Uncles would all visit her on a regular basis and Uncle Joe played a big role in her later years, visiting her most days to check on her.
Uncle Joe passed away in 2013. This was hard for Nonna to accept, and it wasn’t until the day before she passed that we believe it had finally sunk in that he was no longer here with us.
Nonna struggled with poor health throughout her life and it was heartbreaking to see her suffer, but she always pulled through and never complained. Even in her final days.
Her only request the day before she passed away was for a bowl of pasta and some grapes. We made sure that she got to eat Aunty Sindy’s home cooked pasta and grapes from Uncle Pat, not knowing that they would be her last meal.
My mum stayed with Nonna the night before she passed away.
She told us all how she comforter her at 3am:
Mum said: ‘Noi volemo bene a se a se’
which means ‘we all love you very very much.
And Nonna said ‘Buono’
Mum then said: ‘Sa pemo che voi volete bene anoi’
which means ‘we know you love us very very much’
and again Nonna replied ‘Buono’
Mum then told Nonna: ‘Jesu e con noi qui’
that means ‘and Jesus is here with us’.
‘Allura’ Nonna said.
Mum finished by saying: ‘Non aveti paura’
which means :Don’t be afraid…
and Nonna said …No.
Today we celebrate Nonna’s life. We are so grateful that she passed peacefully and are comforted knowing that she was free from pain and not afraid. We believe that she has found the ultimate peace that she truly deserves, and that her presence will always be felt by all of us.
Nonna, thank you for raising such an incredible family. What a beautiful legacy and wonderful memories you have left with us.
Sometimes you don’t know what you have until its gone but for us, we definitely knew what we had and we will cherish that special bond that we each had with you.
Nonna, we are at peace knowing that you have been reunited with Nonno, Uncle Joe, my two Dads and other loved ones in heaven. And we know that you are all watching over us.
Rest in Peace Nonna
Ciao
My Nonna, Maria Eufemia was born on the 13th of December 1925 in S’Eufemia d’Aspromonte, Reggio Calabria, Italy. She was the daughter of Giuseppe & Angela Tripodi, and came from a large loving family.
Nonna was affectionately known as Femia to all her loved ones.
At the age of 16 she married Antonio, who she lovingly called Nino.
Together they had 7 children Domenica, Angela, Pasquale, Giuseppe, Maria, Cosmo and Francesca. In 1957, while she was pregnant with Maria, Nonno migrated to Australia to prepare a home for his family.
Two years later the family was reunited in Adelaide where they eventually settled into their family home in Salisbury Plains.
While Nonno worked 2 jobs, Nonna did the most important job of all… bringing up their children, whilst tending to the market garden & glass houses. Uncle Cosmo said that Nonna hardly owned anything but somehow managed to look like she had everything.
Nonna was very proud to see all of her children get married and have families of their own. She was blessed with 34 Grandchildren and 19 Great Grandchildren.
I remember Nonna coming to visit my daughter Kayla the day after she was born and she asked to take her home. Her love for her children and grandchildren was to be admired.
Sadly, in 1990, Nonno passed away. Nonna continued living in their home where all of her family would regularly visit and enjoy special times together.
Her peaceful, loving nature was admired by all and her hospitality was more than generous. No matter who entered her home, they were treated like family and you would rarely leave without some sort of fruit and veg to take home.
She never wanted to put anyone out… When we visited her she would be very aware of the time and would suggest going home before it got dark… As she rarely travelled far from home... even if you lived fifteen minutes away she would always say that you came all that way and would ensure she didn’t take up all of your time…
Nonna had lots and lots of pets that tasted really good. Her favourite pets were her chickens. One day Uncle Pat went to visit to find her very upset because one of her chickens had gone missing. The next day he caught her by surprise and found her in the kitchen stirring the missing chicken in a pot. That chicken never went missing again.
Nonna was most content when she was feeding her family. As soon as she heard the car hit the gravel driveway, she would be at her pantry getting food out for us. (Julie) She seemed to have a bottomless pantry and whether you were hungry or not, you’d find yourself sitting around the table eating, and she didn’t know the meaning of ‘I’m on a diet’.
I remember often going there after school with my brother (Peter) and sister (Julie) and she would always have chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. Although we couldn’t speak Italian, we all learnt how to say boscotti and beve very quickly.
There would always be almonds and chick peas to complement our meal... not to mention the box of scotch finger biscuits. One of my cousin’s (Kristie) said that every time she eats an almond, drinks a glass of lemonade or dips her bread in the bottom of a bowl of salad, she thinks of Nonna. Another cousin said that Hazelnut chocolate and ‘Nonna’s holy cheese’ will forever make her think of Nonna.
Another cousin (Tracy) remembers having many family dinners and lunches at Nonna’s... She said that they often ended up talking about who's photo was the most kissed by Nonna…… Uncle Joe's photo was unrecognizable because it had that much slobber over it.
Our conversations were limited due to the language barrier, but we still managed to communicate using hand gestures and saying English words with an Italian accent. For example, Lemonada, or Nota Homa plus many more… Most times we ended up just laughing at each other. (Tracy) We will never forget the excitement of her saying the occasional word in English though. (Steph)
She didn’t speak much English but she understood more than she let on.
We remember the jokes (normally rude ones told by me) around our dinner table. Nonna would always somehow know the right time to laugh. And her contagious laugh made us laugh even more. (Julie)
Nonna loved seeing our children and holding them as babies. The sound of "Koo Koo" rings in my sister’s (Joanne) ears as she fondly remembers the sweet sound Nonna would make with her arms out and a big smile on her face whenever she saw her small grandchildren or great grandchildren.
In her final days, and even though she could barely talk, it was special to see her teach her youngest great grandsons Orlando and Ethan how to make that sound, smiling as she enjoyed hearing it repeated back to her.
Another memory I think we all have is visiting Nonna on our birthday. We don’t know how it got there or how long it had been there, but she would pull a twenty dollar note from her bra and give it to you with a big Happy Birthday kiss. If you were lucky, you might have even got a fifty. (Joanne)
Nonna was a woman of unwavering faith, attending church every Sunday until her heath no longer permitted.
She taught her family the most valuable lesson in life and that is the love of Jesus, and how He was the centre of her life… Her faith was incredibly inspiring… No matter what hardship she was going through, Jesus always remained the centre…
Aunty Francesca said that she will forever be grateful for how Nonna taught her the value of Jesus in her life, and that there was no greater gift she could have given.
We often watched Nonna walk down the corridor of her home then stop at the picture of Jesus on the wall and kiss it for at least a minute with sound effects and all. The amount of lip prints on that picture was impressive.
Nonna didn’t drive, and so she relied on her family to help her get to appointments, the shops and events. My Aunties and Uncles would all visit her on a regular basis and Uncle Joe played a big role in her later years, visiting her most days to check on her.
Uncle Joe passed away in 2013. This was hard for Nonna to accept, and it wasn’t until the day before she passed that we believe it had finally sunk in that he was no longer here with us.
Nonna struggled with poor health throughout her life and it was heartbreaking to see her suffer, but she always pulled through and never complained. Even in her final days.
Her only request the day before she passed away was for a bowl of pasta and some grapes. We made sure that she got to eat Aunty Sindy’s home cooked pasta and grapes from Uncle Pat, not knowing that they would be her last meal.
My mum stayed with Nonna the night before she passed away.
She told us all how she comforter her at 3am:
Mum said: ‘Noi volemo bene a se a se’
which means ‘we all love you very very much.
And Nonna said ‘Buono’
Mum then said: ‘Sa pemo che voi volete bene anoi’
which means ‘we know you love us very very much’
and again Nonna replied ‘Buono’
Mum then told Nonna: ‘Jesu e con noi qui’
that means ‘and Jesus is here with us’.
‘Allura’ Nonna said.
Mum finished by saying: ‘Non aveti paura’
which means :Don’t be afraid…
and Nonna said …No.
Today we celebrate Nonna’s life. We are so grateful that she passed peacefully and are comforted knowing that she was free from pain and not afraid. We believe that she has found the ultimate peace that she truly deserves, and that her presence will always be felt by all of us.
Nonna, thank you for raising such an incredible family. What a beautiful legacy and wonderful memories you have left with us.
Sometimes you don’t know what you have until its gone but for us, we definitely knew what we had and we will cherish that special bond that we each had with you.
Nonna, we are at peace knowing that you have been reunited with Nonno, Uncle Joe, my two Dads and other loved ones in heaven. And we know that you are all watching over us.
Rest in Peace Nonna
Ciao