Jessie T. Mazzella of Sag Harbor died on August 7. She was 98.
Born on February 14, 1916, in the Bronx, she was the daughter of Gaetano and Sebastiana (Failla) D’Angelo of Sicily, and the third oldest of seven children. Ms. Mazzella shared her gifts with all who met her, survivors said, adding that she was a skilled seamstress, a gourmet cook and was the life of the party with her bubbly personality and infectious laughter.
Ms. Mazzella began learning her trade of dressmaking during the Depression, when she entered the workforce after graduating from elementary school. She worked at various sweatshops until she married Louis Mazzella, also of the Bronx, in 1935. After they married, they owned and operated two candy stores and soda fountains. The first was in the South Bronx. Upon selling that store, they opened another one in Throggs Neck, where they relocated their family. Ms. Mazzella made the confections and ice cream for the store and continued to sew garments for her family in their one-room apartment behind the store.
After World War II, Ms. Mazzella sold the store and went to work on Seventh Avenue as a seamstress for various dressmakers and designers. Among some of her unique designs were the sequined and beaded wedding gowns she made for her three daughters. Her favorite fabric store was Do Your Own Thing in Sag Harbor, where she purchased fine Italian woolens and imported silk fabric. Survivors said she had a keen eye for style and sewed garments in the latest colors and fabrics. Her daughters and granddaughters were always adorned in the latest styles, and she gladly helped her friends and family alter their clothing or make draperies for their homes. For family gatherings to celebrate Halloween or Carnival, she would make costumes for the family and prepare holiday dishes. She also loved to sing along with her brother-in law Joe LaDuca’s guitar playing at the family gatherings.
Occasionally Ms. Mazzella and her husband vacationed at the Mazzella family home in Ponza, Italy, and Syracusa, Sicily, where her parents were born.
When they retired, they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she continued to sew professionally. As an inquisitive cook, she learned local Tex-Mex recipes and shared them with her family. In 1982, they relocated again, this time to Sag Harbor to be closer to family. Instantly, survivors said, Ms. Mazzella formed a bond with her neighbors who lived in the “Zucchini Hill” section of Noyac. It was common for her to send a dish of homemade ravioli, sausage and cannoli to her neighbors. Biscotti, cavatelli, zeppoli and pizza are some of the Sicilian favorites that her children and grandchildren make to this day, all inspired by Ms. Mazzella. In addition to her Italian meals, she enjoyed preparing Polish, Asian and German specialties.
She was buried at St. Andrew’s Cemetery in a blue satin dress she made from fabric she purchased at Do Your Own Thing.
She was predeceased by her husband in 1989. She is survived by a sister, Lucy LaDuca and husband Joe of Pearl River; four children, Yvonne Fusco and husband Michael Fusco of Centereach, Annette Losquadro and husband Joseph of Manhasset, Richard Mazzella and wife Marion of Connecticut, and Elena Loreto and husband Thomas of Sag Harbor; 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 2725, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.
on Aug 26, 2014