Shrewsbury – Virginia (DiGioia) Cassanelli Miller, 91 of Southgate in Shrewsbury, passed away Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, surrounded by her loving family, on Cape Cod. Her husband, Maurice Cassanelli, passed away Aug. 10, 1985, and husband Albert Miller passed away May 2009.
She is survived by three sons, Geroge Cassanelli of Shrewsbury, Maurice Cassanelli, Jr. and his wife Mary of Mashpee, and Frank Cassanelli and his wife Kathleen of Mashpee; two daughters, Virginia Reus of Pocassett and Gloria Virgilio and her husband Ernest of Mashpee; six grandchildren, Paul, Michael, Joseph, Matthew, Anthony and Dominic Cassanelli; a sister, Lydia Law of Shrewsbury; three sisters-in-law, Celia Cassanelli, Elvera Albertson, and Helen Rissotti; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a grandson, Salvatore Virgilio, and a brother and sister in Italy.
Born in Bari, Italy, the daughter of Michael and Madeline (Papagni) DiGioia, she moved to Shrewsbury in 1935 and had lived there ever since.
Mrs. Miller was a seamstress and later, upon the birth of her children, became a homemaker. She was a member of St. Anne's Church and St. Mary's Church in Shrewsbury, and also a member of the Shrewsbury Senior Citizens Club. She was a gourmet cook and baker, loved knitting, needle work, traveling, and gardening.
Services will be held on Friday, March 2 from the Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel, 370 Plantation St., Worcester, with a Mass at 11 a.m. in St. Anne's Church, 130 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury. Burial will follow at Mt. View Cemetery. A period of calling hours will be held Friday, March 2, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., in the funeral home prior to her Mass.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to a charity of one'schoice.
To share your thoughts and memories, visit her personal guestbook at www.mercadantefuneral.com.
