- December 14, 2025
Today, July 26, 2025, our beloved mom — a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend — celebrates her 100th birthday! Anna is stunned that she has reached this century milestone. She is living a remarkable life.
Born of Italian immigrant parents in the tiny community of New Village, New Jersey, she grew up with strong values of family and hard work. As a young woman, she worked as a seamstress — a craft that requires precision and skill as well as patience and care, qualities she carried throughout her life. Anna later embraced the role of a stay-at-home mom, raising her three children, cooking delicious Italian meals, and sewing outfits for Barbie dolls, among other things. In later years, she returned to the workforce as a store clerk in the domestic department, where her knowledge of fabric and sewing was helpful in all customer encounters.
Anna was a loving wife, married for 54 beautiful years to Osvaldo Massie. Together they raised three children and built a home that was filled with laughter, love, and tradition. And oh what traditions! Food, card games, attending the local Catholic Church functions, harvesting dandelion greens along the side of the road, swimming in lakes, and Sunday drives. Anna made delicious lasagnas, homemade pasta and sauces, passatelli, polenta, and pies. There were lively weekend pinochle games with Anna’s father and other family members. Anna and Ozzie’s bond was one of love, mutual respect and enduring partnership.
Anna’s kitchen was the heart of the family. Every Sunday and holiday the scent of homemade pasta sauce brought the family together. Her dinners were legendary — those multiple courses often flummoxed new boyfriends and others by the sheer quantity of delicious food. She had a gift for turning meals into memories and her table was always open to all.
In 1983, she and Ozzie began a new chapter, relocating to Florida — a place she loves. She often says that the impetus to move was Ozzie on the roof shoveling two feet of snow. In Florida, she found new passions and friendships. She and Ozzie became active members of a local boat club, embracing the sunshine and the water. Anna took up quilt-making and other hand work. Anna’s facility with her hands also extends to having a green thumb. Her orchids flourish under her care. In the eighties, Anna and Ozzie were one of the first to fly the US flag from their mailbox which is a tradition that carries on with everyone living on their street to this day.
Over the years, she has watched her family grow, welcoming six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. As the matriarch, she is always ready with a kind word, or a warm embrace.
Today, we celebrate Anna’s 100 years of life. Her life has been a tapestry of grace, dedication, and joy — and her story, still being written, is a precious gift to us all.
Happy 100th birthday MOM — with all our love,
Sandra, Brenda, David and family!
