Mafalda G Iannelli

Mafalda G Iannelli of Highland Park New Jersey was born May 6, 1929, in Brooklyn NYC of immigrant parents Leonardo and Vincenza Iannelli from southern Italy. She resided in Brooklyn until 2009 when she moved to New Jersey to be closer to her now late daughter, Lucy Sorlucco (D 2019) and her two grandsons, Geoffrey Gresh and Stuart Taranto. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1985 and had a long career in accounting at the prestigious firm Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers). Before that she was a dress maker and sample maker in the fashion industry of NYC. She was a member of American Society of Professional Italians, an Italian heritage club, and travelled the world. She was brave and adventurous in her travel destinations. She visited the USSR and China under communist rule as a student guest with a group of her classmates from Brooklyn College.  She often enjoyed cruises with her beloved sisters, Elena and Lucia and even once survived a shipwreck off the coast of Greece.

She was a wonderful painter and enjoyed auditing studio and art history classes at Brooklyn College. She loved replicating Vincent Van Gogh’s work. She had a great appreciation for the opera and accompanied her grandson Stuart to see Pavarotti more than a few times. She also loved to travel following her late daughter, Lucy, in her musical career on national and world tours of such shows as Cabaret, the Phantom of the Opera and more. She was a wonderful cook, mastered the art of Italian cuisine, and loved nothing more than sharing a meal with loved ones. Especially if it was a buffet, where she would easily eat her grown grandsons under the table.

She was kind and had a uniquely deep sense of empathy and compassion for those less fortunate than herself. She had an ever-present smile, a sharp wit, and the warmth in her heart of the sun. She was a loving and constant presence in the lives of her daughter and grandsons who she helped to raise.

She will be forever missed by her surviving family: her two sisters Elena Iannelli and Lucia Grilletto, who loved her tremendously and remained close throughout the years, her grandsons Geoffrey and Stuart, and Stuart’s family, Tracey and Luca. She spent her final six years living with Stuart’s family in their home, where she was deeply loved and cared for until the ripe old age of 95.

A memorial mass will be offered on Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 11 am at St. Paul the Apostle Church, S 6th and Raritan Avenue, Highland Park, NJ

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