Obituary of Giovanna Guerrera

Giovanna "Jennie" Guerrera, age 87, a long time resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut, passed away on Friday, December 18, 2020, in Montville, New Jersey. She was born on May 16, 1933, in Amantea, Italy, a small farming village in the province of Calabria, the daughter of the late Rosario Bruno and Antonia Bruno, nee Pellegrino.She came to the United States in 1949 and settled in Bridgeport, where her father had been working for the General Electric Company. Giovanna forged her own employment path as a seamstress at the Seaside Blouse Manufacturing Company, an affiliation that lasted for decades, while also attending, with her mother and two brothers, to the mini farm that her father had acquired in Bridgeport's North End.

Giovanna met her husband, Salvatore Guerrera, who had also immigrated to the United States from Italy, in an English class for adults seeking to improve their skills in the language. They were married in 1956, and each worked tirelessly in support of their family, including maintaining their own mini farm in the North End. Following her husband's untimely death in 1998, she seamlessly added her husband's former gardening responsibilities to her own, further cementing her reputation as the woman with the "green thumb". Neighbors and relatives would frequently bring their dying plants to Giovanna and marvel as she nurtured them back to life. Giovanna was all about life -- she exuded a joie de vivre that uplifted everyone around her. Many will remember her for her four-course Sunday and holiday dinners, often attended to by impromptu guests, who would often just stop by the house. Even when these dinners would exceed common notions of a large dinner party, there always was -- somewhat miraculously --an overabundance of food, which often included her signature lasagna and chicken parmesan, meticulously prepared and personally served by Giovanna and immensely enjoyed by her guests as she ate and joked with them. Her children still fondly remember being awakened on Sunday mornings by the wafting smell of sauteed garlic, onions, beef and pork in olive oil as Giovanna prepared from scratch her famous tomato ragu, accompanied by the sound of Italian opera to which she would sing along as she cheerfully prepared that day's dinner. She was the brightest of lights, emanating love and cheer to all around her.

Giovanna is survived by her two children, Linda Guerrera Feeney of Wayne, New Jersey, and Salvatore Guerrera Jr. of New York, New York, and their spouses, Matthew Feeney and Nicole Mene Guerrera; her four grandchildren, whom she loved dearly, Kristen Feeney, Kevin Feeney, Alexa Guerrera and Ava Guerrera; her brother Frank Bruno and his wife Kathleen, both of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and their children, Ross Bruno and his wife Vinsee, Katelyn Croft and her husband Andrew, and Lauren Bruno and her fiance Tom Kielb; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Giovanna's brother, Fiore J. Bruno, passed away on December 19, 2019.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be private. The family will have a celebration of Giovanna's life at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, Trumbull.