Venerita Melotti

Venerita (Sartor) Melotti was born February 16, 1922, in what was then the Village of Oakwood in southwest Detroit. Vivacious and beautiful, she spent the next 92 years inspiring her family and friends to see the good in everyone, count their blessings – and find silver linings in every cloud. The quintessential Italian-American mom, Venerita raised the cooking and sharing of a meal to an art form. Devoted and nurturing, she also had a keen interest in business, politics and current affairs, never missing the news and reading the daily paper cover to cover. Before she married the late Frank Melotti in 1947, Venerita was an executive secretary at (then) Blue Cross and Ford Motor Company, where her lovely, lilting voice earned her center-stage solos in the Ford Chorus.

Managing the family home in Dearborn became her career and passion – and she instilled her love of life and enduring optimism in her three daughters, Linda Lovio (Sam), Francine Melotti (Keith Langlois) and Rita Maria Melotti-Bishop (Andrew); her grandchildren, Rose Marie, Frank and Gregory Lovio and Elizabeth and Christina Bacon; and her great grandchildren, Connor and Carson Pascoe and Oliver Lovio. After being widowed for eight years, in 1981 she married Louis Lotti, longtime friend from the old Detroit neighborhood, and spent nearly 20 years in Sterling Heights. Venerita helped found the Italian-American Heritage Club and was also active in the Ford Wives Club, but her central focus remained her growing family. In later years, she lived near each of her three daughters and passed away on Oct. 23, 2014, at the Grand Traverse Pavilions in Traverse City. She is also survived by her sister Judith (Sartor) Iacuzzi and her sister-in-law Dorothy Melotti – and will be lovingly remembered by all who were privileged to know her, share her table, and receive her unfailing signature farewell: "God bless you and love you." A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, at St. Kateri Catholic Church, Dearborn. For those who would like to visit beforehand, the family will be available at 10 a.m. A luncheon celebration of life will follow at the Dearborn Inn. Please click on www.lifestorynet.com to sign the guest book, view photos and share a message with the family. Contributions may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association, Traverse City chapter, and Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan.