Saturday, September 05, 2009

Remembering Friends

This week I lost a friend. My grandmother told me that it was just as awful to lose friends as family especially when you are getting old. She was right.

One of my first childhood friends died when she was only 14 of a brain tumor. She lived in my neighborhood until she was about ten, and then she and her parents moved to another part of the same city. It wasn't like today where we can contact our friends easily. I only saw her once more before she died when she came back to visit her cousin who coincidentally lived in my neighborhood. (note to self: research that family as the fathers were brothers)

The 1957 Cranston City Directory lists her father and mother living at 49 Rose Hill Dr. Her father's name was Joseph P. Rivelli and the mother's name was Jean L. My friend's name was Linda Jean Rivelli. The 1920 census lists him (probably) as being one year old then, born in Connecticut to immigrant parents Siberato and Teresa Rivelli from Italy. This seems to fit for dates.

In 1961, the City Directory lists this family as having moved to 185 Maplewood Ave. in the Arlington Section of Cranston. His occupation is lithographer for Color Craft, Inc. in Pawtucket. This must be the right family as the house was full of pads of paper. I love paper.

This is more than I knew before today and it shows how valuable city directories can be. I don't know where my friend is buried. I wish I'd saved the obituary.

I hope my long departed friend and my newly departed friend are enjoying Heaven.

2 comments:

Velda said...

I am so sorry for your losses, both old and new. Neither are easy...

GrannyPam said...

What a wonderful memory of your time playing with Linda, contrasted with the sadness of your loss. My mother would use the stencils and glass wax to decorate our windows, too. I don't every remember being allowed to participate, so you did have a special experience.