Vita Crescenza Mecca of Port Chester, N.Y. and Becket, Mass., passed away peacefully on September 14, 2020. She was 93.
She was born on New Year’s Day, 1927 in Port Chester, the daughter of Angelo and Jennie (Cantalupo) LaBella.
After graduating from Port Chester High School in 1945, Sadie, as she was known, worked in the offices of the Russell Burdsall & Ward Bolt and Nut Company.
As a bridesmaid at her cousin’s wedding, her partner was Daniel Mecca, a cousin of the groom. They were well matched, both wanting a large family, and they married in May 1949.
While most people called her Sadie, Daniel affectionately used her given name, Vita Crescenza, which loosely translated means “large life”, a fitting description of their wonderful 65-year marriage.
An avid swimmer, Sadie spent summers at Oakland Beach with her young family and, in her later years, swam in the lake across the road from her house in the Berkshires. She was also a musician; initially playing saxophone at Port Chester High School and being voted Class Musician. After raising her children, she took organ lessons and became a church organist, playing well into her 80s. It has been estimated that she played funerals, weddings, and sacraments in almost 40 different churches.
She was blessed with many lifelong friends, especially her childhood girlfriends who formed “The Club” and met regularly throughout their adult lives. She continued to develop and maintain friendships throughout her life.
Mrs. Mecca was predeceased by her husband, Daniel; her brothers, Paul and Daniel LaBella, and her sister, Catherine (Kay) Calautti. She is survived by her six children: John (Linda) Mecca of Gig Harbor, Wash.; Christopher (Diane) Mecca of Grants Pass, Ore.; Richard (Adrienne) Mecca of Rye; Rosemary Dellinger (Richard) of Norwalk, Conn; Jenny Forman (Robert) of Gastonia, N.C; and Daniel (Julie) Mecca of Wappingers Falls, N.Y.; as well as her sister, Mary Jane (John) Lagana; 16 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated September 19 at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in White Plains. Interment followed at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Rye Brook.
Donations in Sadie Mecca’s memory may be made to The Port Chester High School Band Association c/o Debra Scocchera, 5 Jean Lane, Rye Brook, NY 10573; Friends of Rye Town Park (friendsofrtp.org); or Calvary Hospital (calvaryhospital.org).
