Caterina Grilli and Elpidio Lazzari

Caterina, the fourth child and second daughter of Marino and Marianna (Pazzini) Grilli, was born on Jan. 15, 1895 in Verucchio, Forlì.

 

Caterina was 13 years old when her family moved to Montefiore in 1908 to live with her uncle, Don Secondo Grilli, a priest, at his parish rectory of San Gaudenzo.  This became the turning point that affected the lives of the entire family.  Don Secondo’s influence over them was the cause of many changes they had  to endure.  With Brigida and Pino living in America, it did not take much convincing from Pino that one more change would surely be be for the better.  The exodus of the Grilli family from Italy continued with Caterina accepting Pino’s suggestion to join him and Brigida in America.

 At 18 years of age, she and Maria Libretti, 17, arrived in Charlestown, Mass. in April of 1912.  Maria Libretti, known as Marietta, was a close friend who, as an orphan, lived nearby with the Betti family in Montefiore.  Caterina’s sister, Maria, arrived that following August.  They all lived at 75 Neptune Road in East Boston, Mass., finding jobs in the area.

They travelled often by interurban streetcar to Worcester to visit their sister, Brigida Betti, who was expecting her first child.  Interurban streetcars were the popular means of transportation at that time. By coincidence, a young man who was often seen using the same streetcar to Worcester was also a guest at the christening of Marian Ricardi (Dagostino) that fall.  This young man was Elpidio Lazzari who was born in Fano, Italy on April 4, 1893, and arrived at Ellis Island in 1912, at the age of 19. This is how Caterina and Elpidio met. 

During their courtship, Elpidio decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1918, but he was not accepted because he was not a citizen.  Elpidio and Caterina reasoned that, if he could not enlist in the Navy, the Army would not draft him, so, on January 20, 1918, they were married at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Worcester.  Six days later, he was drafted into the Army.  By Christmas of that same year, he was discharged because of an injury he received while on military duty.

They were married at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Worcester on Jan. 20, 1918.  They had four children:  Marino, Luigi (who died at the age of 2 in 1924), Norma and Virginia.

 

After living in Worcester for 31 years, they moved to Novato, California in 1954.

 

Caterina died at 73, in Worcester on June 14, 1965 while on a visit back east for the 50th anniversary of her sister and brother-in-law,  Maria and Dino Ricardi.

Elpidio died at 70, on July 3, 1966 while on a visit to Italy and is buried there in his birthplace of Fano.