Victoria Mantione Period 4/5 
My grandfather came to the United States as a teen from Italy and married my grandmother, an American, who was the love of his life. Around 15 years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I was just a toddler when she got worse and I barely remember when she knew who I was. She lived more than a decade getting worse by the day. My grandfather, now 91, took care of her until her last day with minimal help. From the stories I have heard, my grandmother was the loudest, most free spirited woman. She loved to cook family Italian recipes which have now been passed down to my family. She had her own garden with beautiful flowers and foods, her favorite being tomatoes, which she used for home cooked meals. My mother and both my grandparents took a trip to Italy in 2009 to reunite with my grandfather's relatives before they got too old to travel. In years to come after the trip, things started to go downhill with her memory loss and we unfortunately lost my grandmother in 2017. At the funeral, we made sure she had the most beautiful flowers, just like the ones she grew. My aunt's friend, a jewelry maker, knew the importance of the flowers to my grandmother and offered to make bracelets and necklaces for my family. The flowers from the funeral were crushed into beads and put on a silver chain. Now, my family has white, purple, and pink bracelets and necklaces to remember her by. I carry this with me to make her proud and to feel connected to her.

– Victoria Mantione

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant