Thomas Hunt

A few months shy of her ninety-ninth birthday, Concetta (Mangione) Prisco died Monday, May 4, 2020, of COVID-19 complications at Mamaroneck, New York. She had been a resident of the New Jewish Home long term care facility in that Westchester County municipality. George and Concetta Prisco Concetta "Connie" was born Maria Concetta Mangione to Liborio and Emma (Arnetta) Mangione, Sicilian immigrants, in Manhattan, New York, on August 5, 1921. (Baptismal records from St. Lucy's Church on East 104th Street place her birth on August 2, 1921.*) Brother Vincent "Sonny" was born in June 1925, and brother Joseph was born four years later. The family's early homes were in Italian East Harlem: first with Liborio's parents Vincenzo and Maria (Capizzi) Mangione at 344 East 105th Street and later at 225 East 108th Street. 1973 passport photo Her later childhood appears to have been spent with relatives in the Little Italy neighborhood in the Bronx, New Yo...

Some early childhood memories have been popping into my head with increasing frequency. Given the current situation, I guess that's to be expected. But these memories seem to be focused on family gatherings where, despite my young age and incredible cuteness, I was not a significant participant nor even entirely welcome. Prisco-Mangione kitchen during a meal. The gatherings, as best I can recall, occurred fairly often within cramped kitchens of a number of Bronx apartments after family meal times. The kitchens, with roughly the same dimensions as a large shoebox, included the usual sink, stove, fridge and cabinets, along with a steam-heat pipe or radiator, and a table engulfed by skinny chairs. Despite tight quarters, there always seemed to be plenty of room around the table for my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, whoever happened to stop by. Somewhat miraculously, it seemed every adult human I knew in the world at that time could find a way to squeeze in around the ...