Grace Foti

Grace Foti, 95, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. Grace was born in Villa San Giovanni, Italy, on July 12, 1926, daughter of the late John and Domenica Cassone Calabro.

Grace came to this country in her early 20’s. A skilled seamstress, she started her own dress shop with her sister during a time when female owned businesses were the exception. After some time, Grace moved to the specialty work of making and altering wedding gowns and ultimately took a job in the alterations department at Lord & Taylor, where she remained in great demand for the more than 25 years of her employment. In fact, her many devoted customers continued to seek out her services long after her official retirement. Although Grace took great pride in her work, she found her greatest joy in spending time with and caring for her family. Married in 1957, she and her husband Frank had two children. Grace devoted her life to their happiness and after they were grown, helped raise each of her grandchildren, making them her priority and instilling in them the same unselfishness and love of family and friends she displayed every day. She was an extraordinary cook who turned the simplest of ingredients into a delicious three course meal. Her family and friends all knew that no restaurant would ever compare to a meal by Grace, not only because everything she made tasted so good but also because every bite was infused with her love. She leaves them all with countless memories of full tables and full hearts.

Grace is survived by her loving children Anthony Foti and his wife Rosemary of Palm City, Florida and daughter Catherine Foti and her husband Steven Rudder of Tarrytown, New York. Her cherished grandchildren Francis Patrick Foti and his wife Kristen Foti, James Peter Foti, Olivia Rudder, Zachary Rudder, Nicole Lampel and her husband Daniel, and Jacquelyn Rudder, along with a great-grandson, AJ Foti, and great-granddaughter, Eva Lampel. Grace also is survived by her beloved sister-in-law Gudrun Calabro, nieces Monique Calabro and husband Matthew Orobona, and Michele Calabro and husband Olaf Schimmel, and numerous other cherished nieces and nephews.

Besides her parents, Grace was predeceased by her beloved husband Frank Foti, her brothers Rosario and Joseph Calabro, and a sister Maria Galimi.

Family and friends may call at the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford on Sunday, October 24, 2021, from 2:00 to 6:00PM. A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Leo’s Church on Monday, October 25th, 2021 at 11:00AM Interment will follow at St. John’s Cemetery, Darien, CT.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Grace’s memory to one of the following charities:
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/
or
Istituto Antoniano Maschile, https://www.basilicaantoniana.it/donazioni