Alma Patricia Fornero

1925 - 2023

Alma Patricia Fornero, 97, died peacefully of natural causes on Saturday, August 26th at home at Sunrise of Stamford. She was born December 25, 1925 in New York City, the daughter of Patrick (Patrizio) Fornero and Louise (Luigina) Boratto Fornero.

She grew up in Woodside, NY and enjoyed spending summers at the beach with extended family, initially in Rockaway Beach on Long Island. In subsequent years the extended family would rent a house at a farm in the Asbury Park, NJ area, owned by an Italian acquaintance. All would enjoy spending time at the beach in Belmar, as well as helping with the animals on the farm. This was a memorable time in her life, with aunts, uncles and cousins all spending time together sharing good food and making music in the evenings.

She earned her B.A. degree in Languages from Queens College and was fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish as well as some German. Initially she worked for the Rockefellers in New York City but when her parents decided to return to Italy to resume running the restaurant her father and uncle owned in Ivrea, she decided to move as well. In Ivrea, Miss Fornero took a position at Olivetti Corporation and worked as a technical translator and secretary until her retirement in 1981. She enjoyed working with foreign countries and her responsibilities included the African sector and the translation and preparation of documentation for the Olivetti management. After her retirement from Olivetti, due to her strong language skills Miss Fornero was recommended to Berlitz, and taught English there for several years.

Ultimately she decided to return to the U.S. in the mid-1980s to be closer to her family here, initially living in Briarcliff, NY before moving to Old Greenwich, where she continued to live independently until 2019.

She enjoyed traveling and took many trips throughout Europe on vacations, often traveling with other family members.

Miss Fornero is survived locally by her cousins Frank Zavattaro of Stamford, Suzanne Z. Warner (Brian) and Marcus Zavattaro (Maria) of Old Greenwich, Christina Zuccari (Richard Weimar) of Darien, and Paula Zuccari Covelli (Dennis) of Valhalla, NY along with a number of other family members both in the U.S. and Italy.

On Friday, September 8th, there will be a brief viewing at 11:00 followed by a short service beginning at 11:30 at Coxe and Graziano Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Avenue, Greenwich, CT. Miss Fornero will be interred in her family vault in Italy.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Alma's name to her preferred charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.