Obituary of Adele Serpentini Alberti

Adele Helen Serpentini Alberti, affectionately known as Gigi by many, passed in her sleep on Tuesday, February 26, 2020 at the age of 96 and three quarters. Adele was born May 13, 1923, at home in Brooklyn, New York to Rose and Emil Serpentini, joining siblings Leon and Victoria (d.1927) with Robert following five years later. She spent her early childhood in Brooklyn, and for a brief time lived on the newly purchased family farm in Pine Bush, New York where she attended a one-room schoolhouse. After a year, the family moved back to New York City, settling in Alphabet City, spending summers on the farm which would remain in the family for over 80 years. Gigi completed high school and moved to Williamsburg, Virginia to attend college. It was a brief stay, returning to the city after a year, as she left her heart behind with Andrew Alberti. Adele and Andrew married in February of 1943, welcoming daughter, Merrily, who was followed three years later by Andrew. They remained on the lower east side until 1950 when they eventually settled in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Adele was at first a homemaker, taking great pride in caring for her family. Nightly family dinners were the norm as was spending weekends and summers with family on the farm in Pine Bush. Eventually she began assisting as an office manager/bookkeeper in the family business, Alberti Baking Company, Inc. She was tragically widowed in her early forties and thus began the second chapter of her life. Following Andrew’s death, Adele and her adult children, including new son-in-law Robert, relocated to Cleveland, Ohio to be near her brother, Robert and his family. Adele obtained her license and worked briefly as a realtor. The entire family returned to Riverdale a few years later, Adele went back to college, obtained her degree from Fordham University, and took her final exams with granddaughter, Samantha on her lap! Adele’s career began mid-life. She started as a part-time sales associate at Sears in White Plains, New York rising through the ranks to become store operating manger until company rules mandated retirement. Not ready to retire, Adele worked as an assistant manager in the woman’s department in Neiman Marcus in White Plains for another eighteen months. After close to a decade of official retirement, Adele went back to work with a flexible but regular schedule, for her son Andrew’s advisory company in Manhattan, responsible for accounts payable and receivables. A large part of Adele’s life and happiness was spending time with her children, granddaughters and great-grandchildren. She was an amazing grandma, always present and very involved in their lives. Adele became extremely active in charity work during the second half of her life, up until she was physically and mentally unable. She was an active member and a president of the Lions Club, volunteered her time with Guiding Eyes for the Blind and spent many years volunteering with Camp Sunshine. Travel was also a large part of Adele’s life. She took to spending time in Florida each winter and traveled all around the world with her brothers, Leon and Robert, sisters-in-law, Mary and Amy, as well as with her dear friends, Mary and Ernie. As a first-generation American, Adele was taught the great privilege of her birth rite. She was a fiercely proud American and made it a point to be well versed in our government, with a strong interest in politics and was an active member of her political party. Adele was a great cook, an avid reader, and a good conversationalist with strong opinions and ideas. She was ahead of her time in her thinking, as a strong proponent for women being equal and independent, and for taking care of yourself by eating well and keeping your body and mind active. She enjoyed her sweets, especially licorice and Peeps, and was known to eat large amounts of cake, sliver by sliver, until it was gone. Adele was also know to have a lead foot and was infamous for her singing voice, much to the chagrin of the hearing world! Above all, she loved all her family with fierceness and loyalty. The last four years of Adele’s life were not ideal. Once her daughter, Merrily, passed in 2016, her slow decline began. She was lovingly cared for by her granddaughter Samantha and her family in their home, spending time with her granddaughter Meredith and her family on Saturdays, until full-time nursing care was required. Adele is predeceased by her parents, Rose and Emil; sister, Victoria; brother and sister-in-law, Leon and Mary; brother, Robert; husband, Andrew; daughter, Merrily; and many other cherished family and friends. Adele is survived by her son, Andrew (Danielle Lathulierie); granddaughters, Samantha Hanley (Matthew) and Meredith Smith (Richard); and great-grandchildren, Victoria, Kayla and Matthew Hanley and Aidan and Ryan Smith. Adele also leaves behind cherished generations of family; nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and great-great nieces and nephews. Visitation to be held Sunday, March 1st, 1-4 PM, Riverdale Funeral Home, 5044 Broadway (at 214th Street) NYC. Funeral Mass Monday, March 2nd, 10 AM, St. Gabriel Church, 3250 Arlington Avenue, Bronx, NY. Interment to follow at New Prospect Cemetery, State Road NY 52, Pine Bush, NY. In lieu of the flowers, the family believes Adele would appreciate support to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 https://donate.guidingeyes.org/ To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Adele Serpentini Alberti, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.