ELISSA VARLOTTA

VARLOTTA ELISSA (SCOLETTI)

Age 83, of Penn Hills, passed on Sunday, December 16, 2018 after a remarkable two-decade battle with Parkinson's disease. The length of the battle amazed all medical personnel involved. Elissa continually defied their predictions of how long she would last, as her unwavering positive attitude and love of life proved much stronger than medical protocol. Her "final stages" turned into additional months, and then years, as her determination to spend more time with her loved ones stretched far beyond what anyone thought possible. Elissa was born in East Liberty and graduated as class valedictorian from Penn Hills High School in 1951. She was extremely close to her best girlfriends from that time and valued their friendship tremendously. When the girls all married, their families would join frequently for picnics and holidays, and the girls and their husbands continued to get together for dinners, parties, and dances until very late in life. After graduation, Elissa completed a post-secondary program in Business Education and accepted a job with Eastern Airlines. She was thrilled to be working for a thriving company that enabled her to experience the glamour and excitement of international travel and enjoy a newfound sense of independence. Elissa married Anthony "Tony" Varlotta in 1959 and moved into the Varlotta home in Penn Hills where the couple raised their four children and lived for the rest of their lives. Here without a doubt, begins the most defining period of Elissa's long life. She was without question, first and foremost, a loving mother fully dedicated to her children and extremely proud of how they became the first generation in the family to earn college degrees and, more importantly, embrace the family's values of high integrity and hard work. The children immediately point to their mother as the primary reason for their success. They recount in similar fashion how more than anything else, it was her love that gave them the confidence and courage to face life's challenges. She was the beloved wife of 59 years to Anthony; mother of Lori (Eric Premack), Michael (Vivian), Anthony (Lisa), and Mark (Michelle); grandmother of Elisa, Giovanna, Michael, Anthony, Nicolas "Nico", Rosalia, Natalia, Julian, Gianni, and Siena; sister of Michael (Diane) Scoletti; daughter of the late Michael and Elvira (Palmieri) Scoletti. Friends received, Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. and Thursday, 2-4 and 6-8 p.m., at SOXMAN FUNERAL HOMES, LTD./ROTH CHAPEL, 7450 Saltsburg Road (at Universal Road) Penn Hills. Mass of Christian Burial, Friday, 10:00 a.m., in St. Susanna Church. Interment in Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Donations to honor Elissa, may be made to Parkinson Foundation of Western PA, 575 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue, PA 15202.