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IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Antoinette M

Antoinette M Pucci Profile Photo

Pucci

Nov 30, 1935 — May 29, 2018

Obituary

Antoinette "Nettie" Pucci of Ashland, MA was surrounded by loved ones during her final hours and died peacefully at the age of 82 in the home where she lived for almost 60 years. Nettie was our matriarch, our sister, our ma, our Nona and our Big Nona.  She was the widow of Carl Pucci, and is survived by her brother Pasquale "Pat" Pescione (his wife, Judy), her sister, Ernestine "Chicky" Capone; children, Carl (his wife, Roseanne Pawelec), Diane, Stephen (his wife, Susan), Lynn (her husband, Roland Gewessler); her grandchildren, Jessica (her husband, Ben Winter), Samantha, Sara, Stefanie, and Christoph; and her great grandchildren, Josephine and Alexander.
Born in Boston, November 30th, 1935, Nettie was raised in a tightly knit, loud, but affectionate Italian family. Food is love and Nettie learned authentic, delicious, Italian cooking from watching the best: her mother and grandmother. But her talents were not solely in meatballs and marinara.  She learned to play the piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her teenage years were filled with fond memories of sibling shenanigans with Chicky and Pat in the Back Bay.
At the tender age of 14, Nettie met a young man with dimples and a great smile and it was love at first sight. Carl Pucci, Jr was the very first boy she kissed, and four years later, she made that young man her husband and moved to Ashland to start a family.
There, they had 4 children: Chucky, Diane, Stephen and Lynn.  All four kept Nettie on her toes in very different ways.  To this day, her children can close their eyes and remember the precise sights and smells of their mom driving in the old station wagon, cooking a lobster diavolo sauce on the stove, and sitting by the pool at the family barbecue.
Nettie also was an entrepreneur.  She transformed her hobby for antiquing and knack for recognizing a great buy, into her own business -- Cobble Stone Antiques, in a corner of Ashland Hardware called Nettie's Nest.  Weekends were filled with flea markets, yard sales, shows all around New England, and her annual trek to the infamous Brimfield.
Puttering around New England was not all she was up to -- our Nona was also a world traveler. She visited many parts of North America, Italy, Europe, and even went on safari in Africa!  One of her most vivid memories was a near disaster in a Venice canal with her mom, sister and daughter Diane.  She laughed so hard recalling it, tears sprung from her eyes.  And every winter, she followed the path of many snow birds to her home away from home in Marco Island, Florida.
Nettie took a great deal of pleasure in the simple things in life.  She enjoyed a great story, a delicious cup of coffee, a well made antique, an old Western (especially Gunsmoke), the silly pundits on Fox News, and a sarcastic joke.
In some ways, our ma was a silent warrior. She overcame rheumatic fever as a young child and a bout of another serious illness which compromised her already fragile heart.  She drew upon a well of inner strength to continue to survive challenging health issues throughout her adult life.
She was not fearful, she spoke her mind, and demanded her loved ones seek their happiness, all lessons learned on the job as mother, wife, business owner, chef, jetsetter and grandma.
She now rejoins her husband, just after what would have been their 63rd wedding anniversary.
We will miss her.
A funeral service will be held Monday June 4th at 11:00am in the Chapel of the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main St. Ashland, MA with burial to follow in Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland.  Calling hours will be held Sunday from 3:00-5:00 PM in the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, we kindly suggest a donation to Friends of the Ashland Public Library online at www.friendsoftheapl.com (at the bottom of the homepage there is a link for donations and in "comments" you can mention Nettie Pucci) or you can mail a check to: Ashland Public Library, 66 Front Street, Ashland, MA 01721.  Nettie believed in the local public library as an important resource as well as a place to be enjoyed by everyone.
To plant a memorial tree in memory, please visit our tree store.

Funeral Services

Calling Hours

June
3

Sunday

Matarese Funeral Home

325 Main Street, Ashland, MA 01721

3:00 - 5:00 pm

Funeral Service

June
4

Monday

Chapel of the Matarese Funeral Home

325 Main Street, Ashland, MA 01721

Starts at 11:00 am

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