Giovanna Lostumbo

Our beloved mother, Giovanna (Gervasio) Lostumbo passed peacefully on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. Giovanna was born in Magisano, Calabria, Italy, in May of 1931 to Pasquale and Maria Gervasio. That is where she met and married Nicola Lostumbo and they had six sons.
She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1973, and later moved to Cicero, Illinois, where she spent most of her adult life. Although she faced many challenges in life, such as being a child in Italy during World War II, living through the Great Depression, losing her father when she was nine years old, having to leave her family, friends, and her country as a young adult to move to the United
States, and losing her husband at a young age, she rarely complained or asked for anything for herself. Her faith in God was evident in the way she lived her life and treated those around her.
She was kind and welcoming and gave generously to others. Giovanna was an incredibly strong, hard-working, selfless, and loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She loved to cook and feed her family and make sure that everyone was taken care of. She even spent 10 years working at a restaurant-starting at the age of 60 when most people are thinking of retiring!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Nicola, her sister, Franceschina, and her brother Pietro, who died as an infant. She is survived by her sister, Pasqualina, her six children, Rosario (Angelina), Domenico (Wendy), Pasquale, Mario (Sheila), Antonio (Carmen), and Pietro. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Nicola F., Antonella, Giovanni, Nicola, Patrick, Gianna, Joey, and Gia, and four great-grandchildren: Elsa, Giulia, Ethan, and Jacob. In addition, she is survived by many nieces and nephews both in the U.S. and in Italy.

She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew and loved her.

Riposa in pace, cara mamma.