Obituary of Virginia Cobuccio

Virginia “Jenny” Cobuccio, a resident of Medford for almost 80 years, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 30, 2023.  She was 92 years old.  Jenny was born in Boston, the daughter of Sicilian immigrants, Raimondo and Filomena Bono.  She spent her first years living in the North End of Boston in a home steeped in Italian traditions and values.   Her father was a fisherman, and the family had a modest apartment overlooking the wharf.  She would watch when his boat was arriving and looked forward to the feast of fish and lobster that he would bring home for his family.  Jenny was very devoted to the Blessed Mother and had the honor of crowning her each May Day celebration while in grammar school.   She learned to play the piano and accordion and was a majorette.  The family moved to Medford when Jenny was in her early teens.  She spent a lot of time in the kitchen helping her mother learning the family recipes that came from Sicily.  When Jenny married, she kept most of the Italian traditions she learned as a child.  For Jenny food equaled love.  As soon as you entered her home, she would greet you with “Did you eat”, “Are you hungry” or “What can I get you”.  Her family loved her Italian gravy, homemade gnocchi, raviolis, pasta, pizza, potato & eggs, apple pie, and bow tie cookies.  She loved celebrating the holidays, keeping traditions like the Feast of Seven Fishes.  Her home was filled with her siblings and their families, cousins, and friends.  Thursday nights she played cards with her mother and sisters.  They played Michigan Rummy and Poker for pennies and in true “Bono Style” there would be numerous conversations all going on at the same time, Italian and English were intermingled as one language, and the stories and laughter never stopped.  Jenny had a naïve sense of humor that could be comical. She and her husband Tony purchased a cottage in Wareham in 1980 and it has been the summer gathering spot for the Cobuccio family for over 40 years.  Days were spent on the beach, swimming and evenings with family meals and games.  As a mother, she was lenient but with an iron fist and as a grandmother she had no rules.

Jenny worked at Schrafts and Puritan Pie before children and at a family sub shop . But if you were to ask her, she was a wife, mother, and grandmother.  She was a member of a ladies’ bowling league in Malden, and she was a longtime Boston Red Sox fan.  She was a very devout Catholic and a longtime parishioner of the Immaculate Conception Church in Malden.  She answered the phones at the rectory, was an eucharistic minister, and a member of the Healing and Restoration Ministry.  She believed in the power of prayer and prayed the rosary three times a day often interceding for her children, grandchildren, and their spouses.  The last years have had their challenges, but her family rallied around her to assist her and smother her with love.  She will be missed but will always hold a special place in the hearts of those she loved.

Jenny was the beloved wife of the late Anthony “Tony” Cobuccio.  She was the loving mother of Virginia “Ginger” Rotchford of Wareham & her late husbands Stephen Poulack and Michael Rotchford; Anthony “Tony” Cobuccio & his wife Roberta of Tewksbury; and Louis Cobuccio & his wife Ellen of Tewksbury.  She was predeceased by her siblings; Vincent Bono, Michael Bono, Josephine Rago, Theresa Jean, Catherine Geany, and Stefana "Stella" Guarino.  She was the proud grandmother of Joseph Cobuccio & his wife Amanda, Jonathan Poulack, Stephen Poulack, Matthew Cobuccio, Jennifer Martel & her husband Timothy, Nicole Cobuccio, and Edward Rotchford.  She was the great grandmother of Gianna Cobuccio.  She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Monday, November 6 from 4-7 p.m. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday, November 7 at 8:45 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at the Immaculate Conception Church, 600 Pleasant Street, Malden at 10 a.m. Services will conclude with a burial in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford.  Memorials in Jenny’s name may be made to the Immaculate Conception Parish, 10 Fellsway East, Malden, MA 02148 or the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452.  For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net