Yolanda Innocenti was born Yolanda Vallone on March 2nd, 1915 on Garden Street in Kenosha, WI. My mother was the 2nd oldest child in a family of 5 children. As I learned later in life they actually had 11 children with only 5 surviving as was common in that era of childhood diseases. It sounds so very harsh to me after experiencing the loss of my grand daughter “ baby Grace” who lived only a few short hours. My mother always spoke fondly of the Salvation Army because that was an organization that provided the first Christmas gifts for her family when she was a small child. Mom’s family was very poor, however as she often stated they really did not know they were poor. Yolanda Vallone graduated from 8th grade in 1929. She loved school and was a lifelong learner. Mom, always wished she would have had the opportunity for further education. However, at 14 she went to work full time at Derby Foods and supported her family of 7 during the “ Great Depression” on $14.25 a week. On October 12, 1947 my mother and father were married. Sixty-four years later my mother left our world for the next. My sister, Monica and I were very fortunate to have such devoted parents. My father died August 30th, 1968. That evening I remember pulling the mattress off my bed and placing it outside my mother’s bedroom door. I had lost one parent, I could not handle losing another. In my 58 years of life, I have lived 46 of those years with my mother. So, I guess you could say I am a “ momma’s boy”. And proud of it! After my dad died, my mom was not very strict with me. My father had been the disciplinarian in the family. Here I was this 15 year old who did not have any curfew or other rules. How very wise my mother was. After staying out later a few times, I would come home to see my mom waiting in the rocking chair. She never said anything, however I was never out late after that. My mother was a spirited woman. After my father died, she secretly learned how to drive at age 53 and came home one day with a driver’s license and a car. Mom was not one to lecture her children much. She did speak often about the “golden rule”- DO ONTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD WANT OTHERS TO DO ONTO YOU. What my mom really did was live her life as an example to follow. Well, mother you left a wonderful legacy for your children, grand children, and great grandchildren. We will not need a GPS unit to follow this map. My children( Niki, Jessie, & Keith) truly were blessed to have grandma in the house for much of their growing up years. Mom loved family. Family gatherings really energized her soul. As is quite typical in Italian families, holidays or family gatherings centered around food. Mom, was an excellent cook all her life even into her early nineties. For years we would have Sunday family dinners at my house. As mom was getting older, I would ask her about her recipes for meatballs, lasagna, and other specialties of hers. These were very interesting conversations. Mom was a great cook however, she did it by feel. There I was trying to get her to quantify her recipes. I guess I was trying to get an artist to paint by numbers. It did not work very well. I heard an occasional “ buffanople”. Which as a child I thought she was swearing at me in Italian, it merely meant go to naples. Mom traveled often to Florida to visit Monica, Tom, and Michael. These were great times for her. At age 93,mom took her last trip to Florida. I dropped her off at the curb at Midway Airport as she was heading to visit my sister. She would have had it no other way. My mother never wanted anyone to make a fuss about her. She wanted everyone else to be happy. Even in her last days, she would try to help Monica and I as we were trying to change her to make it easier for us. She was the ultimate giver. I have a request for all of you today. To honor my mother’s wonderful life do something kind to make the world a better place. It could be making peace with a friend or family member, or Doing volunteer work, or charitable work. Or maybe making more of an effort to be kind to those who are closest to us. I love you mom. I will miss you! (eulogy on October 17, 2011 by Jim Innocenti)