Grandma Philo and Grandpa Peter (aka, Nonna & Nonno)

Laura's paternal Grandparents—Peter Niceforo and Philomena DeStefano Niceforo—inspired and encouraged Laura to pursue a second career in teaching.  Philomena and Peter were retired teachers from the Union Public School District in New Jersey.  

Both Peter and Philomena were among those few people from immigrant Italian families fortunate enough to attend college in the 1930s, graduating from Brooklyn College together. Peter continued his higher education, receiving a Master of Arts Degree from Columbia University.  Philomena continued to teach Italian language classes to her peers in her Lakewood, New Jersey community well into her 80s.  They had a tremendously positive influence on the people in their lives until their deaths, Peter at age 92 in 2007 and Philomena at age 92 in 2009.

During the summers when Philomena and Peter weren't teaching, they were rarely on vacation.  They worked each summer to give their family better opportunities.  First they worked as camp counselors in exchange for their childrens' tuition; second they owned and ran a summer camp; third they rented the camp property; finally they reinvented the business into housekeeping cottage rentals.  

As a teenager, Laura spent several summers with her grandparents at the cottages, living and working side-by-side with them mowing the lawns, painting the buildings, and facilitating recreation activities with the vacationing families such as sailing, fishing, and horse back riding.

Fast forward twenty-five years to Philomena and Peter often visiting Laura's "teacher pages" on her school website from their computer.  Not many grandparents were as proficient on the web as Peter and Philo. It meant the world to Laura that her grandparents encouraged and supported her life long dream of becoming a teacher. 

Even though Laura's primary vocation is as a teacher, she knew she wanted to express her creativity in a summer business that would complement education.  Laura is able to enhance student projects throughout the school year because of her experience as an entrepreneur—and it allows her to follow in her grandparents' footsteps, as teachers who were also summer business owners.

Perhaps facebook is a better location for the following—a eulogy honoring Philomena. Written by by Rosanne Niceforo, Laura Gordon's Aunt and Philomena's youngest daughter, these words capture the inspiration and the connection that Philomena has with everyone she touched.   

"When Mom passed away, friends and family paid tribute to her as a mover and a shaker; a passionate, courageous, positive woman who was definitely ahead of her time. To me, she was all that and more; she was and always will be my strength and driving force.

In her autobiography—An Unending Desire:  Five Generations of an Italian American Family—and in her life, Mom expressed an unending desire to make us aware and proud of our Italian heritage. She would encourage us to speak Italian at all times.  As youngsters, we resisted; we were part of the movement that tried to move away from our immigrant roots. As we grew older, however, we realized that our mother was ahead of her time; she was trying to instill in us a pride in our heritage and the ability to express ourselves in a second language.

Mom broke with tradition when she became one of the first women on the block to hold a full-time job. No one did that in the 1950’s!  Then she and Dad really raised the bar when they gifted us with the summer camp experience at Snow Hill. No one in our family had ever gone to camp. Well, that changed quickly, especially when she "talked" Dad into buying Kawameeh Camp, a trick few women of her era would even attempt. After all, he was the decision maker in the family! How she loved running that place. It was never work, always a pleasure. Then she was on to another project with Orchard Rock! What joy she experienced watching her grandchildren, her sisters and their children picking apples or enjoying boat rides on the lake!

Speaking of grandchildren, Mom’s unending desire to spend "quality" time with each of her granddaughters was often a source of humor when they were young, but they understood as they grew older that Gram wanted to share all the good times in life as well as any troubling times they may have had. This desire for quality time extended to Richard, Diane, Lucille, Larry, Jim and me; she wanted to see us as much as possible. How thrilled she was when we all went to Lakewood or she and Dad came to our homes for Sunday Dinner.

Yes, Mom’s life was all about family and she simply couldn’t get enough. I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t full of pride and affection for every single individual member of it. As such, she took every loss very hard. Like each of her sisters, when her brother was taken from us, she was devastated. After Aunt Louise and Uncle Joe passed away, Mom honored their memories by sharing her life with their grandchildren. Always the one to encourage, she reached out to her sister Molly in the language of their childhood when Aunt became forgetful and needed that extra push. She cherished speaking with her Gigi and Jenninella every day and loved to tell them just how much she loved them.

Though she always said she was blessed with three beautiful children, it was her four beautiful grand daughters and great-grand children that lit up her life.  When Mom became very sick it was Kimberly, Christina, Laura, and Lisa that gave her that extra push to continue.  It was her great-grandchildren, Sophia, Ali, Grace, Jackson, Julian and Leyla, who at the end of her life, brought back the gleam in her eyes as she stretched to hug and kiss them. It was the visits from her friends, sisters, nieces and nephews that she cherished. In Health and in Sickness, she was still asking about great-nephews or writing a card (and a check) to her grandchildren.

I would be remiss if I did not say speak of her guardian angel Sara, whom Mom loved so very much. Sara cared and loved her as though she was her own mom. Sara, God bless you.  You made the unbearable bearable for all of my family. We love you and, don't forget: we have more than a few family members who have you on reserve.

Mom, please kiss Nonno and tell him that we love him and miss him every day.  Kiss your beautiful sisters and their husbands, your brother, your brothers-and sisters-in-law. Most of all, watch over your family and keep us all happy and healthy."