Ground Zero’s “Mama” is gone, but her shining example of New York altruism is here to stay.
Giuseppa Vendome, lovingly known as “Mama” among 9/11 recovery workers, died on April 29th at the age of 100, according to the Columbus Citizens Foundation.
Two days after the September 11th attacks, the Italian-American restaurateur had established an eatery on Canal Street where she, her husband Rocco, and their son Antonio “Nino” would serve over a million meals to the rescue and recovery personnel from nearby Ground Zero.
For the following nine months, Nino’s Restaurant decided to expand working hours to the point of being operational 24/7 – putting itself at the service of the firefighters digging through the rubble of Lower Manhattan. Every day, Mama would serve her famous meatballs to NYPD, FDNY, FBI, Secret Service, U.S. Army soldiers, laborers, sanitation workers, and numerous other workers at Ground Zero.
Her affable and caring nature earned her the nickname “Mama,” and many found much necessary comfort in her smile after a day of anguish and exhaustion.
Giuseppa was born in 1923 in Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi, a village in the province of Avellino in south-western Italy, and emigrated to the United States in search of a better life with her husband Rocco and two children, Gennaro and Antonio. She began her career as a wheat farmer in Italy and then worked as a seamstress, factory worker, chocolate candy maker, and real estate manager in New York City.
Giuseppa leaves behind her loving children, Gennaro, wife Carol, Antonio and his fiancée Candida.
A solemn funeral will be held on Friday, May 3, at Immaculate Conception R.C. Church in Astoria, Queens, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
