Irma Filomena Ferro
September 10, 1933 - March 3, 2023
Born September 10, 1933, at 5:45 pm at Saint Lukes Hospital in San Francisco, California to Basil and Angelina Briano. She passed away on Friday, March 3, 2023, at age 89 surrounded by her loving family.
She attended Washington Irving Elementary School, then promoted to Francisco Middle School, and then graduated Galileo High School. Upon graduation she began working at Wells Fargo Bank at the corner of O’Farrell & Grant Avenue.
Growing up on the end of Green Street she enjoyed the company of her cousins Inez and Albert Bini. The apartment house was always bustling with family, friends, and good food. Irma got her love of cooking from her aunts Paulina and Rosina. She was a great cook and loved cooking for her friends and family. She was known for her delicious spaghetti sauce and yummy tiramisu.
In her early years she spent many days playing the games of roshambo, Jax, and hide and seek. She was well known around the neighborhood of Green and Montgomery Streets for her roller-skating abilities. Irma and her lifelong friends Carrie and Lorraine wore out many pairs of skates going up and down the neighborhood hills. Always creating the best laughs and memories they could make. As they grew up she was the first of her friends to get her driver’s license and enjoyed cruising with her friends along the Marina and North Beach area. They would often end up at Herbert’s Sherbet Shop on the corner of Fillmore and Lombard.
Irma would often visit her cousins Isabel, Bobbie, and Mario in San Mateo on the weekends. She would ride the bus there and then her fun would begin.
Irma spoke fondly of the summers she spent in Redding when she was a young girl. She especially looked forward to picking the most delicious figs from a giant fig tree there. She loved her time there and it was some of her favorite memories.
Irma loved to dance. She would go out every weekend dancing with her friends and her favorite place was Club Fugazi. In 1955 while out dancing at Club Fugazi she met the love of her life Angelo. They were married on October 26, 1956, at Saints Peter and Paul Church on Filbert Street in San Francisco, California.
Family was everything to Irma and she was a loving mother to her sons Michael and Tod (Marcia). She hardly missed the activities for her sons and was a school room mother for many years. She enjoyed running the fundraiser bazars and carnivals at the schools and churches they attended. She excelled at providing her sons’ classes with the best parties that were a source of pride and enjoyment to all involved.
Irma had a passion and loved fishing. Going to Blue Lake with her family was a summer getaway spot for them all. Fondly, her sons have vivid memories of going to Dunsmuir every year and fishing alongside their mom. It was something she always looked forward to doing. She was known to be an excellent fisherman.
Irma was an avid auto racing fan and would record and watch almost every race event that would air on television. She especially looked forward to the month of May and getting up early to watch the Indianapolis 500. Much of her love of racing came from her family’s involvement in the sport. Irma loved to travel and had many vacations to Italy and around North America for auto racing events. Always the consummate caregiver, she played a key role on the racing teams by ensuring everyone was well fed and in good spirits. Though days spent away from home were long, she loved meeting new people and sharing the excitement of the sport with everyone. Irma always considered many of the people from the teams and those she met along the way to be extended family.
Irma had a big heart and generous spirit. It is a wellknown fact that she had quite the gift for gabbing and no matter where she was, she would strike up a conversation with just about anyone around. Very often her conversations would likely end in them finding out they were somehow related or had a friend in common.
In 2006 Irma proudly became a grandmother to Anderson. Her love for him was there the moment she knew he was on his way. He was her pride, joy, and a very bright light in her life. In her eyes he hung the moon. When he arrived, she could not wait to start showing him her love. She shared her love for Spumoni ice cream with him. Which Anderson affectionally refers to as “Nonni Spumoni”. She was always telling him he was too skinny and trying to feed him and get him to gain a few pounds. She enjoyed always teaching him about Italian culture and many phrases….though some deemed a little naughty.
Irma had a very large extended family that was well beyond those who were related by blood or birthright. She loved having Marcia join the family as Tod’s wife in 1996. Seeing her son marry and begin his own family brought her immense happiness. Marcia’s family and Irma’s family truly became a close family unit, always welcomed into each other’s lives and events. During her parents’ illness she was lovingly taken in and cared for by her Aunt Paulina. Many of her friends’ children and spouses became her friends. She looked forward and loved the frequent phone calls to catch up with them, especially with Debbie.
Gloria and Aisha became close friends and caregivers through their caring support over many recent years. Sylvia Valdez, who became part of the Ferro family by becoming Irma’s hardworking and devoted caregiver for the past six years, was there many long days in the last weeks of Irma’s life and provided care, comfort, support and love to Irma. All the Ferro family appreciates not only Sylvias dedication to the care of Irma but the whole family. ----------------Friends and family are invited to visitation, Sunday, March 19, 2023, 6:00 PM with Rosary, 7:00 PM at Green Street Mortuary, 649 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.
A funeral mass service with be held at Saints Peter and Paul Church, 666 Filbert Street, San Francisco, California 94133, on Monday, March 20, 2023, 10:00 AM. Interment, Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery located at 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA 94104. Immediately following the burial, the family would like to invite everyone to a celebration of life luncheon. Bus transportation will be provided between the church service, internment services, and celebration of life luncheon. Public Parking Garage available at Vallejo Street Garage between Stockton and Powell