Theresa Pesaturo

Theresa (Gemma) Pesaturo, 98, passed away on November 17th, surrounded by her loving family. She was a resident of Golden Crest Nursing Center in North Providence for the last several years, having previously made her home in North Providence. Theresa was the last of a family of 12 siblings. The Gemmas were a proud Italian-American family of 9 boys and 3 girls, who came to America from Arce, Italy - part of the wave of immigration to the "new world." Her father Bernardo Gemma had come to Providence first, and was there to welcome his wife, Philomena, who made the journey, by ship, with 9 children. In Providence, she gave birth to 3 more children, Theresa being the youngest. On Providence's Federal Hill, in a 3-story tenement, all 12 of them grew up. Money was scarce, but love and loyalty were anything but. The strong ties that bound the family together were unbreakable, even into their adult years. A beautiful example of these ties was evident five, even six decades after their childhood. On the first...