Perry, Marie "Babe"

Marie "Babe" Perry, 77, of Rome, passed away after a brief illness on Saturday, June 22, 2013. She was born in Rome on August 8, 1935, daughter of the late Adolfo and Maria Lamandia Adolfi. She graduated from Rome Free Academy in June 1953. On October 23, 1954, she married William “Lefty” Perry in St. John the Baptist Church. He passed away March 3, 1973. Marie loved her four children, Joanie, Billy, Carol Lynn and Kathleen. She cherished every moment she spent with them and dedicated her life to them and their families. Her greatest challenge was being a single parent after the early death of her husband Bill; her children are evidence of her success. At every family celebration, Marie’s sauce would be on the table, whether on lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, or another Italian dish, along with her meatballs. Every December her batch of Italian Christmas cookies took the spotlight. She passed these recipes, in the oral tradition, to her grandchildren during memorable cooking times, a multi-generational recipe that now lives on with the newest of the Perry family. In her later life, Marie was a volunteer grandparent to the developmentally disabled at Walsh House. She was a proud member of the Red Hat Society and enjoyed their luncheons. Over these last years, she enjoyed daily card games of Skip-Bo and Sequence with her friends at Georgian Arms Apartments, who together shared stories and laughs. Over the recent years, she especially appreciated the many errands her son Bill did for her, helping her with many small but necessary tasks. Surviving are her daughters, Joan (Tim) Perry-Coon of Latham, NY; William Perry of Rome, NY; Carol Lynn (Tom) Reichel of East Syracuse, NY; Kathleen Anderson of Raleigh, NC; four grandchildren, Kyle (fiancé Ashley) Reichel, Chris Perry-Coon, Kristen Anderson, and Kelsey Anderson; and numerous nieces and nephews. Also surviving is her sister Katherine "Kattie" Retrosi of Rome and her brother Anthony Adolfi, Scottsdale, AZ. She was predeceased by her husband William; her dear sister, Jaconda (Jack); and seven brothers, Henry, Nazie, Frank, Joseph, Albert, Adolph Jr. and Richard Adolfi. Funeral services will be celebrated on Wednesday morning at 11:00 in St. John the Baptist Church for a Mass of Christian Burial with the Rev. Paul F. Angelicchio as celebrant. Interment will be in St. John’s Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call at the Bottini Funeral Home, 120 W. Embargo St. on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m.