Giovanna (“Jennie”) Panettieri Remembered

Who was Giovanna (“Jennie”) Panettieri? The short answer involves a brave, religious young woman who immigrated from Stromboli, Italy to Brooklyn, New York in 1920.

Within our Panettieri family tree, Giovanna is one of six family members who laid the foundation for our success in America. By 1925, Giovanna at age 20 was a factory worker, according to the New York Census. Her income likely helped to pay monthly expenses for the family home on Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn, while also helping to build and expand the Panettieri Brothers Fruit and Vegetable Market business.

Still, tragedy struck on September 21, 1927 when Giovanna died at age 22 after a “brief illness,” according to obituaries published in The Brooklyn Eagle and The Brooklyn Daily Times — two local newspapers at the time.

Giovanna Panettieri (1905-1922)

Giovanna’s death certificate listed “Hodgekins Disease Complicated by Chronic Myocarditis Complicated by Decompensation, Cardiac Failure,” according to Ancestry.com. We don’t know if the disease had been diagnosed prior to her death.

Among my regrets during my time as a teenager in the 1980s: Never asking Salvatore Panettieri (1911-1990) about his sister Giovanna, her personality, and the life she led.

Still, this much is known: Giovanna was born in Stromboli, Italy around 1905. She immigrated to Brooklyn in 1920 with her mother (Rosa) and her two younger brothers (Stefano and Salvatore). Her father Vincenzo and older brother Giuseppe had immigrated to Brooklyn in 1915.

According to obituaries, Giovanna’s Requiem Mass — part of an overall funeral — was held at the Church of St. Blaise on Kingston Avenue, where she regularly attended mass. (The church later merged with the neighboring St. Francis of Assisi parish, and relocated to a new address.)

Giovanna is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, along with several of her immediate family members and some descendants.

Author Context: Giovanna was my grandaunt. Her eldest brother, Giuseppe, was my grandfather. Giovanna’s younger brothers — Stefano and Salvatore — were my granduncles. Her parents, Vincenzo and Rosa, were my great grandparents.