Family and friends, we are deeply saddened to share the news of our loss. Jean Gatto passed away on November 26, 2025, at the age of ninety-four.
Jean was everybody's mother, nana, aunt, and friend. Born to Anna and Ralph Cianci on April 28, 1931, in Providence, Rhode Island, she grew up surrounded by an extended Italian family who taught her all she needed to know about love and cooking. Jean had an indomitable spirit. Although she had to leave school at the tender age of fourteen to help support her family when her mother became ill, she went on to get her GED diploma and study English at the University of Rhode Island, where she dazzled professors with her insights and literary skills. Several of them became lifelong friends.
And, while her first marriage ended in divorce—a bold, early feminist move in the late 1950s—she later found happiness in her marriage to John R. Gatto, who died in 1973. She prized her daughter, Deborah Davis, above everything and worked tirelessly to give her the best possible life. During her long and varied career, she was assistant to the manager of Providence's Biltmore Hotel, the office manager of Dr. John Turchetta's orthodontic practice, and a realtor.
When Jean retired, she moved to Montclair, New Jersey, to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Mark Urman, and her grandchildren, Oliver Davis-Urman and Cleo Davis-Urman. Over the next thirty years, she became a treasured member of the community, volunteering at the Montclair Adult School and befriending generations of admirers who prized her for her wit, wisdom, and incomparable lasagna. She also worked as the bookkeeper for her son-in-law's film distribution company, Paladin. She was a lifelong golfer and always enjoyed a good party, a dry martini, and listening to Willie Nelson, the Three Tenors, and the duets of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.
She was the best friend and chief dispenser of treats to the family dogs, Ike, Bianca, Scarlet, Beau, Alfie, Minnie, Dolly, and Buddy.
Jean will be loved and remembered by her daughter Deborah, her grandson Oliver, her granddaughter Cleo, their spouses Jessica Cox and Richard Miller, her great-grandchildren Ava Urman and Bruce Urman, her extended family, and her countless friends.
We have lost an icon.
A memorial celebration will be scheduled in 2026
Jean was everybody's mother, nana, aunt, and friend. Born to Anna and Ralph Cianci on April 28, 1931, in Providence, Rhode Island, she grew up surrounded by an extended Italian family who taught her all she needed to know about love and cooking. Jean had an indomitable spirit. Although she had to leave school at the tender age of fourteen to help support her family when her mother became ill, she went on to get her GED diploma and study English at the University of Rhode Island, where she dazzled professors with her insights and literary skills. Several of them became lifelong friends.
And, while her first marriage ended in divorce—a bold, early feminist move in the late 1950s—she later found happiness in her marriage to John R. Gatto, who died in 1973. She prized her daughter, Deborah Davis, above everything and worked tirelessly to give her the best possible life. During her long and varied career, she was assistant to the manager of Providence's Biltmore Hotel, the office manager of Dr. John Turchetta's orthodontic practice, and a realtor.
When Jean retired, she moved to Montclair, New Jersey, to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Mark Urman, and her grandchildren, Oliver Davis-Urman and Cleo Davis-Urman. Over the next thirty years, she became a treasured member of the community, volunteering at the Montclair Adult School and befriending generations of admirers who prized her for her wit, wisdom, and incomparable lasagna. She also worked as the bookkeeper for her son-in-law's film distribution company, Paladin. She was a lifelong golfer and always enjoyed a good party, a dry martini, and listening to Willie Nelson, the Three Tenors, and the duets of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.
She was the best friend and chief dispenser of treats to the family dogs, Ike, Bianca, Scarlet, Beau, Alfie, Minnie, Dolly, and Buddy.
Jean will be loved and remembered by her daughter Deborah, her grandson Oliver, her granddaughter Cleo, their spouses Jessica Cox and Richard Miller, her great-grandchildren Ava Urman and Bruce Urman, her extended family, and her countless friends.
We have lost an icon.
A memorial celebration will be scheduled in 2026
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Jean Gatto, please visit our flower store.
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