Recollections by Joe Ragucci (in conjunction with other discussions):

One of my vivid images of Marge was sitting next to the telephone in the kitchen talking quietly to her sister or one of her phone friends.  The only place she ever went on her own was to her sisters who lived 4 blocks away.  But even that was rare.  The phone was her link to her world.  My father would find out the lies she told to people and when he confronted her she would act as if she never said it. Continue reading →

Conversation with Dominic Ragucci (recorded by Joe Ragucci):

Dom has begun to “sanitize” his memory of Marge based on her change of behavior during the last years of her life in Roosevelt Hospital Nursing Home.  He now says “she wasn’t that bad” but that’s far from the truth.  She was always a strange person.  He admits that she was a “home-body”.  He admits that it was always a challenge to get her to go anywhere.  He remembers many times going to family events alone (or with his children) because she wouldn’t go.  He never lied for her but said the truth that she didn’t want to go. 

Dom remembers the next door neighbor knocking on the door one day when he came home asking if their child could have his ball back.  When he confronted Marge she said she took it and put it down the cellar.  She couldn’t stand kids (even her own children) playing near the house – even on the street. She would yell and chase them away. All the kids were afraid of her because she yelled and would steal their balls if it came near her.