Assunta Maria Prather (nee Rescigno)

March 10, 1924 - July 20, 2016

 

Assunta Rescingo Prather

March 10, 1924 – July 20, 2016

 

 

 

Assunta Rescigno was born on March 10, 1924, in Naples, Italy, to parents Salvatore and Filomena Esposito Rescigno. She was one of 8 children including: brothers,Salvatore, Giuseppe, Vincenzo, Raphael; sisters, Concetta, Rita, Flora. She was a skilled seamstress and a devout Catholic who attended daily mass growing up.

 

In 1941 she met Charles Augustus Prather from Augusta, Georgia. Charles was a soldier in the United States Army serving in Naples, Italy, during World War II and spoke fluent Italian. They began a courtship under the watchful eye of her family and four brothers for 4 years

 

On September 16, 1945, she and Charles were married in Naples. Since Charles was still under obligation to the Army, he was not able to afford housing for himself and his new bride. In early 1946, Assunta boarded a ship for the 9-day voyage to the United States alone. Because of the strict laws of the southern states against interracial marriage, she was not able to go to Georgia to be with Charles’s family and went to live with Charles’s cousins, Anna and Willie Carter, in Evanston, Illinois.

 

When Assunta arrived in Evanston, she was pregnant with their first child. She lived with strangers, did not speak English, and had no concept of American food or culture. On July 6, 1946, she gave birth to Assunta Mamie who was named after herself and Charles’s mother, Mamie. Charles’s mother, Mamie, came to help her with the new baby.

 

She struggled to survive and care for her infant daughter, then in 1947 petitioned the Red Cross to contact Charles and have the Army provide him an early discharge so that he could join her in Evanston.

 

Charles and Assunta – better known as Susie – moved to 4211 South Berkeley, Chicago, Illinois, in an apartment complex that was owned by one of Charles’s Army buddies – Eugene Brooks. They lived in the complex with several other Army buddies and their Italian wives as a cohesive community. and the families and children flourished. Charles taught Susie English by having her read the newspaper. She successfully passed the Naturalization test to become a U.S. Citizen shortly thereafter.

 

On September 9, 1952, Veronica Maria was born, and the family was complete. Charles and Susie eventually purchased their own home as Charles worked for the U.S. Post Office, and Susie worked hard as a cashier to make ends meet.

 

Susie has three grandchildren – Lamont and Barbette Siller, Christopher Kochinsky, and two great grandchildren – Rae and Makai Siller.

She was a true pioneer at a time of uncertainty leaving her family in Italy and venturing into a foreign land. She possessed a resilient character who met challenges and never wavered in striving to meet and attain her goals. She was an Adventurer and instilled in her daughters the idea that they must strive for a better life through education that neither she nor Charles were able to obtain.

 

Susie gave her daughters many gifts and insights into life’s challenges. She told them the history of her family and her life growing up in a large family in Italy. She taught them to speak Italian, to love music and art, and the art of Italian cooking and cuisine.She took them both to Naples to meet her family and experience the Italian culture.

 

To those who knew and loved Susie, they will remember most that she had a quick wit and an unmatched sense of humor. Her memory and gifts live on in her honor.

 

—“Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you. I loved you so – T’was heaven here with you.”  —Isla Paschal Richardson

 

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 22, 2016 from 9:00 am until 11:00 am at Gerardi Funeral Home, 9501 West Lincoln Highway, Frankfort, IL. Interment private, St. Mary Cemetery, Evergreen Park, IL. In lieu of flowers, family requests memorials to Harry E. Anderson VFW Post 9545 Ladies Auxiliary, 323 Old Hickory Road, New Lenox, IL 60451.