Rita Grace (D'Errico) Antonellis

Rita Grace (D'Errico) Antonellis, 94, of Sarasota, Florida, died on August 9, 2024.

She was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1930 to Carlos and Margherita (Sylvia Placentino) D'Errico. She met Joseph Antonellis, the love of her life, in the fourth grade and celebrated 62 years of marriage with him. Rita was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Antonellis, her twin brother, Philip D'Errico and two of her sisters, Lisa (D'Errico) Cozza and Clementina (D'Errico) Triglione.

She is survived by her sisters Amelia (D'Errico) Cozza and Linda (D'errico/DiLorenzo) Sullivan, her five children: Gary (and Fran) Antonellis, of Tarpon Springs, FL; Janet (and Rick) Maglich, of Sarasota, FL; Steven (and Anne) Antonellis, of Kingston, MA; Robert Antonellis of Medford, MA; and Kathy (and Robert) Green of Simpsonville, SC.

She was blessed with 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, whom she dearly loved; and numerous beloved nieces, nephews; her godson and goddaughter.

The family of Rita Antonellis will be having an open-casket wake on Thursday, August 15th from 4-6pm at Farley Funeral Home, 265 South Nokomis Avenue, Venice, Florida. A closed-casket visitation will be held on Friday, August 16th from 10am-11am with a funeral mass at 11am at Church of St. Patrick - Catholic Church, 7900 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, please help a family member or someone you know in need and share a special memory of Rita with them.

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The following tribute to Rita Antonellis is given by her grandchildren:

Rita Grace Antonellis was the most loving wife, mother, grandmother "Grammy", and sister. At 94 years young, she left this world all too soon according to her family, but right on God's schedule. Rita Grace was aptly named--she dedicated her life to spreading the love and grace of Jesus to whomever she met by lavishing them with hugs and homemade Italian cookies. She had a memory like no other--she could recall dates and facts and recount family history with pinpoint precision--and often recounted stories of her family. She enjoyed gardening, watching Cardinals (but not Blue Jays), painting, and cooking secret family recipes for all to enjoy. In recent years, her favorite hobbies included spending time with her family, recounting family history, baking cookies, and developing new cookie recipes for each new great-grandchild. She also enjoyed knitting while watching Hallmark Christmas movies (all year round)! Our Grammy will be sorely missed. It is the general consensus of her family members that she is the most beautiful 94 year old we have ever seen, getting prettier every year! It is hard to use words to accurately describe how deeply blessed we are to have known her. She beamed light and love into our lives and all the lives she touched.