Santa R. (Squadrito) Donnarumma, of Malden formerly of East Boston, passed away peacefully on February 11, 2017. She was 88 years old.
Santa was born to Martha (Guinta) and Jerome Squadrito. Born in Syracuse, NY and moved to East Boston with her parents shortly after birth. Growing up in East Boston, Santa graduated Class of ’45 from East Boston High. After graduation she started her career at Brecks of Boston and Gilchrest. Santa was the oldest of 7 and helped her mother raise her younger siblings. Santa had a passion for fashion, dancing and big band swing music. She was married for 42 years to Leonard and had 5 children who spent family gatherings with her mother, brothers and their families every Sunday
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When her children were grown-up, she returned to work at the Boston Company (Mellon Bank). She loved her job and met wonderful people who became friends for life. Eventually she retired, living at 89 Pearl St., Malden, where she met new friends who enjoyed community events together.
Santa was the beloved wife of the late Leonard B. Donnarumma. She was the loving mother of Martha Ferratusco and her husband Vance of Saugus, Denise Donnarumma of Malden, Doreen Girard of Peabody, Leonard J. Donnarumma of Everett, and Jerome V. Donnarumma of Malden. Santa was the dear sister of Jerome Squadrito of Revere, Thomas Squadrito and his wife Ann of Lynn, and the late Frank, Vincent, Joseph and Frances Squadrito. She was the precious grandmother of Genevieve Ferratusco and her fiancé Kieran Kavanaugh, Janelle Donnarumma and her fiancé Ryan Hall, Anthony Ferratusco, Skylar Girard, and the late Vance P. Ferratusco. Great grandmother of Giuliana and Gabrielle Hall. She leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends including her dear friend Debbie Green and her family.
The funeral will be held from the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home 865 Main Street, Malden on Friday February 17th at 9:00a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in Sacred Hearts Church 297 Main Street, Malden at 10:00a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held at the funeral home on Thursday from 4-8p.m. Interment will be in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Santa’s memory may be made to the COPD Foundation,COPDfoundation.org, 3300 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Miami, FL 33134.