DINA G. MALGERI

1929 - 2024

MALGERI, Dina G. Died peacefully in her beloved North End of Boston on September 22, 2024. Born in Chicago, Illinois on August 19, 1929, she was the daughter of Francesco Malgeri and Dina D'Alto Malgeri; and sister to Francis Malgeri, all deceased. She is survived by a number of cousins in Turin, Italy and Medford, MA; along with many dear & devoted friends. Dina was a humanitarian and an independent woman with many interests, ranging from history to travel, current affairs, all of the arts and all things library. With the exception of a two-year stint in her late teens in Manhattan, NY and three years she spent as a civilian admininstrative librarian for the U.S. Dept. of the Army Special Services in S. Bavaria, Germany, Dina remained a resident of the North End since 1935. She enjoyed traveling to many U.S. states and foreign countries, but her love of the city was immense and well known to all her friends. First educated locally at St. Anthony's School, North End and St. Mary's High School in Cambridge, MA, Dina received her BA in Humanities at Harvard Extension School and her MLS at Simmons College. Among notable positions she held during her years of work, Dina started her professional career as a clerk to the Commissioner of the MA Office of Probation for 14 years. A position which, traveling by public transportation, brought her to improve or establish libraries at hospitals, reform schools and the prison system throughout MA. She would say that this experience had a powerful impact on her life. Next, upon returning from her Army post in Germany, she served several years at the MA Board of Library Commissioners, after which she accepted the position as Director of the Malden Public Library, a position she enjoyed for just over 40 years, until her retirement in 2013. Dina walked everywhere and rode the subway to work in Malden every day of her career. In her early years, along with her regular duties as Director, she loved uncovering works of art from dusty basement closets in the original library building, opened in 1885 and designed by renowned architect H.H. Richardson. Among her great successes as Library Director was the restoration of this, the historic Converse Memorial Building, that serves as a multi-faceted cultural center and houses the art galleries, exhibits and serves as a research center for local history and genealogy. And prior to that, the skillfully designed library addition; originally conceived as new home to the library's growing vibrant daily use. Working with the City's administration and the Library Board of Trustees, she gathered resources and craftspeople to see the building addition through to successful completion in 1996. But it wasn't all work. Dina liked to break down stereotypes and loved to tell the story of the theft and recovery of Winslow Homer's "The Whittling Boy" from the library's art collection in 1975, which she was beneficial in helping to recover. The tale involved detectives, a ransom, a rendezvous in Boston's Government Center and the positive outcome of retrieval. She got a twinkle in her eye as her listener gasped at the quiet little woman relating the tale- surely the stuff movies are made of, not a day in the life of a librarian. After losing her immediate family early on, Dina left this life especially thankful to her cousin Sapia D'Alto and all her cousins in Italy and Medford, MA for folding her into the family. Friends and colleagues are invited to celebrate Dina's life at St. Leonard's Church, 320 Hanover Street in Boston's North End, on Sunday, November 10, 2024. An intention will be read for Dina at the 10:30am Italian Mass. Memorial gifts in Dina's memory may be sent to The Center for Italian Studies, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358, c/o the Francesco and Dina D'Alto Malgeri Endowment in Italian Studies. www.stonybrook.edu/italianstudies