Esperia Marie Stortini

P. DEAN HOMER FUNERAL HOME 206 WATER STREET PO BOX 1 DUSHORE, PA 18614 TEL 570 928-8163 FAX 570 928-8116 Email pdh@epix.net OBITUARY Mrs. Esperia M. Stortini, age 89 of Dushore, PA passed away on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at the Memorial Hospital, Towanda, PA. Esperia (Sperry) was born in Cagli, Italy on August 27, 1921, the first of three daughters of the late Paul & Mary Cavellini Caccia. Her parents came to Dushore when she was very young and she graduated from the Cherry Township High School, class of 1941. She began working at Cunningham Tourist Home in Dushore and soon after got a job at the Acme Market in Dushore. She was an intelligent hard worker and in 1942 she was named the manager, when her boss was called to military service during WWII. She remained the manager until the store closed in 1974. Then she became the co-manager with her former protégé, Frank Bohensky, at the Towanda Acme until she retired in 1984 after 43 years of service. She married Raymond J. (Stirk) Stortini of Mildred on June 25, 1951 and he predeceased her on September 18, 1997. She and Stirk moved into the apartment above the Acme in Dushore which has been her home to this date. Sperry hired local folks who made a career working and eventually retiring from Acme Markets. She also hired numerous young people and guided, mentored, disciplined and protected them throughout their high school and college years. The many former ACME employees of Esperia affectionately nicknamed her, “Mom”. She and Ray were not blessed with natural children but had numerous young people who they treated like their own children. They loved these and their nieces and nephews with exceptional love. Esperia was a very active member of St. Basil’s Church and its Altar and Rosary Society. She and many others were very involved with the inception of the annual Spaghetti Supper on the first Sunday of hunting season. Her Italian cooking skills were amazing and luckily her passion for children, allowed a lucky few to share in the joy of making delicious homemade noodles. In retirement, she enjoyed her morning coffee ritual with friends in Dushore, Bingo at St. Francis in Mildred and traveling to Daytona Beach, Florida in the winter. She was a local legend in her ability to sell raffle tickets in support all of her favorite charities and was a sophisticated investor with an uncanny ability to pick some real winners. Surviving: her sister, Lee Ann Wolfe of Towanda, PA; nieces and nephews: Robert (Cindy) Spencer, Waldorf, MD; Victoria (Mark) Saia, Painted Post, NY; Marianne (John) Passmore, Corning, NY; Dr. Charles Wolfe, Duluth, MN; Alison Wolfe (Timothy) Schaeberle, Corning, NY; Gerald (Maria) Farrell, Dushore, PA; Ann S. Layton, Phila, PA; James Farrell and Francis Farrell, Dushore, PA; and numerous great and great-great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her Sister, Rose C. Sullivan on Jan. 30, 2002 and brother-in-law, Dr. Charles Wolfe on May 16, 1976 and a nephew, Raymond J. Farrell on April 10, 2001. A Transferal Service will be held on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 9:30 A.M. from the P. Dean Homer Funeral Home, 206 Water St., Dushore, PA and will be followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 A.M. at St. Basil’s Church, Dushore, PA with the Rev. Joseph R. Hornick, her pastor, presiding. Interment will be in St. Basil’s Cemetery. Friends may call on Sunday, July 31, 2011 from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. and from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the P. Dean Homer Funeral Home, Dushore, PA. Members of IHM Altar and Rosary Society will recite the Rosary at 3:00 P.M. on Sunday afternoon at the funeral home. The family will provide the flowers and request that memorial contributions be sent to St. Basil’s Restoration Fund, PO Box 307, Dushore, PA 18614. To send condolences or sign the e-guestbook, please go to www.homerfuneralhome.com. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Esperia Marie Stortini, please visit our flower store.