Mrs. Antonia “Lena” (Genna) Rizzo, 89, of Methuen died peacefully Monday, August 10, 2009 at Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen.
Born on February 7, 1920, Antonia was the daughter of William and Antonia (Tombarelli) Genna. She was born and educated in Lawrence and was a member of Holy Rosary Church.
Antonia worked at the Plymouth and Oxford Mills in Lawrence as a cutter and then became a homemaker. Through the years she helped and worked at the family business, Ritzy’s Diner and Restaurant on Essex Street in Lawrence, alongside her husband the late Fred J. Rizzo with whom she shared 33 years of marriage. In her early retirement she worked at Piro’s Bakery in Methuen. She loved to cook, take care of her family and spend time with her grandchildren. Her favorite way to spend a day was to ride to the beach and follow the coast road up to Maine.
She was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother who will be greatly missed and whose memory will forever live on in the hearts of her family. Antonia is survived by her two children, Carol (Rizzo) Mottram of Bradford and Anthony Rizzo of Hudson, Wisconsin, as well as three granddaughters, Lisa (Mottram) Coscia and her husband Steven of Hampstead, N.H., Leah (Rizzo) Thompson and her husband Brent of Woodbury, Minnesota, and Kara (Rizzo) Bach and her husband Curtis of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. She also leaves five great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sister Doris (Genna) Sciarrino and brothers Frank Genna and Joseph Genna.
ARRANGEMENTS: Family and friends may call on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home, Inc., 233 Lawrence St., Methuen. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday at 10 a.m. at the Corpus Christi Parish at Holy Rosary Church in Lawrence. Burial will follow in the Bellevue Cemetery also in Lawrence