South San Francisco, CA April 19, 2022 by Garden Chapel Funeral Directors
On April 14, 2022, heaven welcomed another angel with the passing of Marcella Lucchesi – a jovial and light-hearted woman who treasured her family and made the most of her life here on Earth.
Born on June 3, 1926 in the mountainous hamlet of San Cassiano di Controne in northern Tuscany, Marcella lived out her early years amid impoverished circumstances and a devastating tirade of war atrocities. Nevertheless, she cherished the little things in life, developed an appreciation for simple pleasures, and even following her immigration to the United States, always looked back to the “old country” for guidance.
Raised in the religious and cultural traditions of the Apennines, even in her later years, she enjoyed repeating the proverbial sayings, 3-4-line ballads, and treasured adages and expressions of her youth. Although she had only completed the fourth grade in her village schoolhouse, she achieved success in both her personal and social life that rivaled Americans with prestigious upbringings and world-class educations.
While she clung extremely tightly to the ways of her hometown and province, Marcella discovered a genuine fascination with her new surroundings in San Francisco; even through years of laboring hard and raising her family, she found immense joy in her environment and the people she encountered.
Happily married to her husband, the late-Renzo Lucchesi (a former garbageman with Sunset Scavengers) for the majority of her living years, Marcella maintained a loving home, welcoming any of her friends and extended family members who would drop-by unannounced throughout the day.
In many respects, she represented the foremost characteristics of the Silent Generation: loyalty, frugality, reverence, and determination. Reserved in her social mannerisms and persistent in her desire to preserve cohesion within her immediate circle, she pursued this stability while making the necessary decisions to push her family forward. Indeed, her only discernible objectives in life were to seek joy, secure the long-term viability of her family, and tobe an accessory to the success of those around her. Skilled in a multitude of areas including sewing, ironing, pressing, and cooking,
Marcella also possessed a deeply-emotional dimension that is only ever found so infrequently. Never allowing her life’s distractions to stand in the way of the close relationship she had with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, she kept in close communication with her ancestral predecessors, prayed constantly for her loved ones’ prosperity and fortune, and never feared death. Rather, she viewed each struggle and obstacle as an opportunity to further embrace life.
For her positivity, humor, and loving kindness, she will be missed by all those whose lives she touched. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Franco & Susan Lucchesi; nieces, Carla Cardarelli (Angelo) & Fiorella Talenti; nephew, Albano Barsi (Alessandra); sister, Rosina Barsi; grandson, Lorenzo Lucchesi; and many more who considered her a maternal figure.
The family would like extend its sincere gratitude to the caring staff of the Westborough Royale and Pathways Home Health & Hospice, both of which contributed to Marcella’s comfort and consolation to ensure her everlasting peace.