‘I have good genes’
Greenwich woman celebrates a century
GREENWICH — Life hasn’t always been a bed of roses for Marie Bologna D’Elia, who raised her three children as a stay-at-home mother while her husband worked in the Greenwich community.
After her children were grown and she was in her 50s, D’Elia attended night school to brush up on her secretarial skills and secured a job, beating out younger competition.
She outlived her husband and two sons, but she is well-known by many in town who admire her for keeping her spirits up, despite her personal heartaches.
“My mom has been an inspiration in many ways. Her constant upbeat personality and positive attitude has made her a role model for living life to its fullest, despite any obstacles that have come her way,” said Joy Bledsoe, D’Elia’s only daughter.
Born on Jan. 12, 1921, to two traditional parents from Castelgrande, Italy, D’Elia recalls first living on Hamilton Avenue in a building owned by her parents. They moved later to Greenwich Avenue, where she lived above a family-owned furrier store called Bologna Furriers, where her parents worked.
“She greets every day with a smile and curiosity,” Bledsoe said.
And many from around the town joined in celebrating as D’Elia marked her 100th birthday on Tuesday.
Family members had taken to Facebook to ask friends to show their love and support by sending birthday cards to D’Elia’s Greenwich home — offering a safe way to celebrate the centenarian during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re up to 94 as of today and the mail has not come yet, so we will get to 100, which was my goal,” her daughter said by phone on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon, family members and friends gathered for a “surprise serenade” for her birthday on the front lawn of D’Elia’s home, which was built by her late husband.
Retired teachers, secretaries and clerical staff from the Greenwich Public Schools gathered to sing happy birthday to D’Elia, a former Board of Education member.
First Selectman Fred Camillo presented D’Elia with a town proclamation for her years of community service.
“I am looking forward to congratulating Mrs. D’Elia on such a momentous milestone as well as chatting about her recollections of Greenwich over the years,” Camillo said in an email before the event.
“Born in a year when the town was nearly a third of the size it is today, Mrs. D’Elia witnessed not only the may changes that helped shape the Greenwich we know in 2021, she was also present for many of our nation’s historical events that most can only read about,” he said. “I know all of Greenwich joins me in wishing Mrs. D’Elia the best of health and happiness on her 100th birthday!”
Growing up in Greenwich
A day before she turned 100, the spry centenarian was sharp and laughing throughout an interview on Monday, as she recounted the highlights of her life while sitting near her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.
Born on Jan. 12, 1921, to two traditional parents from Castelgrande, Italy, D’Elia recalls first living on Hamilton Avenue in a building owned by her parents. They moved later to Greenwich Avenue, where she lived above a family-owned furrier store called Bologna Furriers, where her parents worked.
Her parents got married in Italy before immigrating to find a better life and more opportunities. Her father worked as a lady’s tailor, making fur coats and other clothing. At one point, he made the uniforms worn by Greenwich Academy students. D’Elia’s mother learned to sew and helped her husband run his clothing business.
They were very strict, D’Elia said of her parents.
“We couldn’t do this. We couldn’t do that,” D’Elia said of herself and her siblings.
“They came to the United States and it was so different from a small town in Italy, and I think they had maybe a hard time coping with different attitudes,” she said of her parents.
D’Elia, the oldest of four children, knew she was expected to marry first and had to do so before her younger siblings could do the same.
“It used to bother me,” she recalled. “They were so rigid in their thoughts,” she said of her parents, drawing a laugh.
Back then, “divorce was a no-no,” she said, explaining that she was in no rush because she feared marrying a man that she might later want to leave.
But on September 1946, D’Elia said her Aunt Theresa set her up on a blind date with Joseph Dominic D’Elia. Marie D’Elia was almost 27 at the time, and recalled thinking, “If I don’t marry this man, I’m not going to marry anybody.”
After six months of dating, D’Elia said the two were married Dec. 27, 1947, on her parents’ anniversary, at the Pickwick Arms Hotel, which formerly stood at the top of Greenwich Avenue.
The wedding took place just two days after the Great Blizzard of 1947, which dumped 26.9 inches of snow on New York City in 24
hours.
D’Elia went to bed the night before her wedding thinking she had finally found a husband, and yet, her special day would be ruined by the weather.
But she woke up on her wedding day to find that a swift clean up had taken place. The nuptials had proceeded as planned, her loved ones said.
Life in town
A longtime member of the Woman’s Club of Greenwich, D’Elia is well-known and respected, and she was honored with the Woman of the Year Award in 2011.
“I like to keep busy. I don’t like going out to lunch every day. I like to do something constructive,” D’Elia
said.
She spent most of her life working as a secretary and office manager — at the Greenwich Trust Co. as a secretary to the vice president; at the Greenwich Sewer Department as an office clerk; at Greenwich High School as a house secretary; at Greenwich Education Association as an office manager; and at Emerson Television and Radio as a secretary to the president of engineering.
After graduating from Greenwich High School, D’Elia attended Shorts Business School. She found her first job working for the Greenwich Trust Co., where she honed her record-keeping skills. She later used that knowledge to help her
husband with his construction business in Greenwich. Until 2019, she provided the same help to her late son, Joe D’Elia who owned Shady Tree of Greenwich.
As she closed out the interview Monday, D’Elia said she enjoys playing word games, creating floral arrangements and being with her family members.
D’Elia thought long and hard when asked to share her secret to longevity.
“I don’t really have one,” she said, before thinking harder and offering up another answer.
“My mother lived to be 101,” she said. “So I have good genes.”