Vittoria (Barbuto) Perri

Vittoria “Vickie” Perri of Baden, loving wife and adoring mother to five children, passed away on Saturday, August 24, 2024, at the age of 90. Vittoria was the daughter of the late Francesco Barbuto and Maria Grazia Moschella. She was born on March 5, 1934 in Maierato, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Vittoria was only 11 years old when her mother died. In 1946 she came to America at age 12 with her two older brothers. Her father came here seeking a better life for his family. They settled in Aliquippa, where her father worked in the tin mill at Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. Vittoria transitioned from childhood into adulthood very quickly as she was the main homemaker for her father and two brothers. She did all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing and clothing alterations and seamstress work, a skill she learned as a little girl from her mother. She was fiercely loyal to her family and her domestic situation cultivated her strong work ethic. She was an expert in all aspects of Italian cooking including making all kinds of homemade pasta, ravioli, lasagna, soups and salads and Italian sausage and grew and maintained an Italian vegetable garden annually for most of her adult life. In 1951, Vittoria was hired by a Greek bakery in Aliquippa, along with her best friend Teresa, and became a master at making numerous types of cookies, breads, cakes, pies, nut rolls and other desserts, but her specialty was “lady locks”, a horn-shaped pastry made with flaky puffed dough and whipped cream. Vittoria happily made these for family and friends during the holidays, weddings, baby showers and other special occasions. In April 1955, Vittoria married the love of her life, Romano Perri and they had five children together. In 1974, Vittoria was hired by the Ambridge Area School District as a cook/food preparer for the school cafeteria. She kept that job for the next 46 years until the age of 85 and it was estimated that she prepared and served more than 2.5 million meals to more than 24,000 Ambridge Area School District students over the course of 8,280 days. “The world has changed since Vickie started working here, but Vickie has stayed the same — humble, hardworking, dependable and full of love for our students,” an opinion shared by her loving coworkers. “Mom, there are no goodbyes, you will always be in our heart.” Besides her parents, Vittoria was preceded in death by her loving husband of 67 years Romano Perri, her selfless, beautiful daughters Rosetta and Maria, her two brothers Frank Barbuto and Vincent “James” Barbuto, her beloved sisters-in-law, Teresa Carifo and Janet Marine Barbuto. She is survived by her three sons, Pasqualino “Patsy” Perri and daughter-in-law Diane Perri, Francesco “Frank” Perri, Romano Perri Jr. (Angelina Sittig), four grandchildren, Christopher Cimarusti, Matthew Perri, Luke Perri and Brooke Perri. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Esther Barbuto, four nieces Rose Pucci (Peter), Frances Good (James), Maria Barbuto Erb, Elizabeth Barbuto, and four nephews, John Carifo (Gail), Hugo Carifo, Frank Barbuto Jr. and James Barbuto Jr and her best and most loyal friend of 78 years, Teresa Amendolia Vasko. Vittoria will be deeply missed by her family and friends. She was deeply religious; a proud Roman Catholic and she celebrated all religious festivities with the tastes and smells of her Italian heritage. Friends and family will be received Tuesday, August 27, 2024, from 2-4 & 6-8, BOHN-MATICH FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 1099 Maplewood Ave., Ambridge. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 10:30 am at St. Luke the Evangelist Good Samaritan Church located at 725 Glenwood Avenue in Ambridge. Everyone please meet at the church. Interment will follow at Economy Cemetery.

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