Davidica J. Ferretti

Davidica Josephine Ferretti, (nee Mattei), who passed away at home on February 22, 2016of Fairfield, was born in Isola Fossara, Italy, on September 26, 1938 to Santina (Travaglatti) & Vitalie Mattei. Her parents were born in the United States but, for family reasons, had returned to Italy where they met and were married. She and her mother immigrated to the US in 1948, settling in Plains, PA, a coal miner's town, where they joined her father who had already returned to the USA ten years earlier to establish the family. This was the first time she met her father, as he had left for the US before she was born in Italy. Davi, as she was known, attended the Plains, PA school system, before going to work in a garment factory to support her family. She graduated from Coiffures Americana, in New York, and became a licensed cosmetologist before marrying her husband of fifty four years, Bruno R. Ferrett, Jr. (who was raised in West Pittston, PA). Together, with their children, they moved to Clifton, NJ in 1963, then to Fairfield, NJ in 1976. Davi was an excellent homemaker and stay at home mom before returning to work for many years with retailers and manufacturers based in Fairfield, NJ. She retired in 1998. She was a beautiful, petite, quiet woman (Davi won a photographers' beauty contest in her twenties), who loved her family, being at home and keeping it immaculate. She loved classic movies and was an avid reader of biographies. Foremost of all her attributes was her strength and ability to persevere through times of drastic change and poverty. She told many stories of the old country and surviving the horrors and chaos of WWII as a child. During her childhood in Italy, "her family's home/farm was taken over by German soldiers and the family had to live in an abandoned church for a period of time". We, her family, all marveled at the fact that she had no Italian accent (despite being able to read, write, and speak fluently). She would always say that "when she arrived in the US, she was put in a kindergarten class to learn English. She had a terrific teacher and wonderful neighbors who helped her. In addition, she hated being teased and strived to master the English language!". She is survived by her devoted husband, Mr. Bruno R. Ferretti, Jr., of Fairfield, NJ; son Bruce Ferretti (wife Sandy Fellanto) of West Caldwell; stepgranddaughter Dina Cashin & husband Kevin of Scotch Plains, NJ; daughter Danielle Ferretti-Gulla, of Fairfield, NJ; and her beloved grandson Anthony B. Gulla of Fairfield, NJ. She is also survived by a younger brother, John Mattei, Sr. (Beverly), of Plains, PA. Please remember Davi in your prayers. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."-Poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Funeral Mass St. Thomas More R.C. Church Thursday 11AM. Cremation private. Arrangements under the direction of Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Home, 7 Two Bridges Road, Fairfield. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Atlantic Home Care & Hospice, 465 South Street, Suite 100, Morristown NJ 07960.