Minnie A. Tonielli, 108, a longtime resident of Marseilles, completed her life’s journey on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Visitation will be from 10-11:30 a.m. Friday, May 21, 2021 at Seals-Campbell Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12 p.m. Friday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Marseilles with Fr. Ghislain Inai officiating. Entombment will be in the Shrine of Rest Mausoleum in Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa. It is kindly requested that those in attendance of the visitation and mass wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Minnie was born November 18, 1912, in Brooklyn, IL, the third daughter to John and Minnie (Cacello) Gotta.
Minnie arrived in Marseilles via a surrey with her mother at the age of 12. She would remain for the next 89 years, until she was forced to leave her beloved neighborhood and town due to the 2013 flood. One can only imagine the historical events she witnessed between 1912-2021.
On September 15, 1934, she married fellow Nabisco employee, professional boxer, and love of her life, Ernest Dominic “Laddie” Tonielli. They would remain married for the next 58 years until his death in 1992.
Minnie was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church from the time it was located on Bluff Street to its present address on Broadway. For many years, she worked in the church’s food pantry. Before her retirement, she was employed at the Bel-Mill sewing factory.
She is survived by her two sons, Dr. Ernest Robert (Helen) Tonielli of Quincy and Terry John (Patty Dougherty) Tonielli of Ottawa; one honorary son, Sam “Bub” (Gala) Eppstein of Westminster, CO; eight grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Laddie; two sisters, Mary Hanson and Katie Murphy; other relatives; and other “lunch buddies”.
Pallbearers will be eight of her great-grandchildren, Sarah Brady, Lucy, Will, and Fern Crayton, and Miles, Deakon, Katie, and Amy Tonielli.
She was laid to rest in the Sanctuary of Hope.