Norma T. Veresko, 90, formerly of Johnston, died Monday, January 25, 2021 at The Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
Born in Providence, RI, she was the daughter of the late Edward J. and Rosalie L. (Hamel) Lariviere. She had lived in Johnston for 53 years, most recently living in Chicopee, MA. She was a graduate of Johnson & Wales University and Rhode Island College.
Norma had worked as a Service Department Coordinator for the Providence Gas Company for 25 years before retiring. She had also worked at Harmony Hill School and The United States Rubber Company.
Norma was also President of the Rhode Island Chapter of The Association of Children with Learning Disabilities.
She is survived by her children: Bernard T. Veresko of Johnston, RI, Paul S. Veresko and his husband Humberto of Chicopee, MA, David A. Veresko and his wife, Deanna of Westerly, RI and Stephen J. Veresko and his wife, Melissa of Foster, RI, her seven grandchildren, two great grandchildren and a brother, Arthur N. Lariviere of North Providence. She was the grandmother of the late James D. Veresko and sister of the late Edward Lariviere.
Her funeral mass will be held Monday at 10am in St. Robert Bellarmine Church, located at 1804 Atwood Avenue, Johnston, RI. Due to COVID regulations seating is limited to 75 people. Face masks and social distancing are required. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Chicopee Council on Aging, 5 West Main Street, Chicopee, MA 01020
IN REMEMBRANCE OF MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, NORMA VERESKO
Norma came into my life in 2003, when I first met Paul and from that moment on, she has been an unforgettable part of my life.
As I stand here in remembrance of my lovely mother-in-law, whom I miss terribly, I can tell you that Norma touched my heart in so many ways that every single day, in some small ways, treasured memories of her come my way.
So, it is with a heavy heart that I thought I’d share some of these memories, with you:
Norma relocated to Chicopee in 2014 and settled in with Paul and I. At first it was quite hard for her as she missed her sons, family members and friends, and the life she lived in Rhode Island.
But, let me tell you, Norma was quite a resilient and independent woman: she got herself enrolled in the Chicopee Senior Center, played piano for her friends at the senior center, which by the way was something she looked forward to everyday from Mondays through Fridays, she bought a car, she moved into her own condominium, she fell in love with Chicopee and treasured her independence.
Norma, Paul and I did pretty much everything together. As Norma would say, we were like “thick as thieves”, one of those many American expressions that Norma LOVED teaching me about.
OH NORMA, HOW I MISS YOU!!!!!!!
I still wait to hear your voice every day.
I still wait for your call to tell me that you were taking us out to eat, as you’d put it “My Treat” because you had won money on scratch tickets.
I still wait for your excited loud screams when you would win on scratch tickets while sitting beside me in the car.
I still wait for our many trips we took together to Costco and see how excited you used to get trying every single food sample in the store.
I still wait to listen to you raving about how your garden was the best garden ever in your neighborhood.
I still wait for your delicious crunchy wine biscuits you use to make for me and my classmates while I was in the Nursing Program at Our Lady of the Elms College.
I still wait for your wake up calls at 4:30 in the morning, so I could take you to the bus station in downtown Springfield to go visit your brother Arthur and sister-in-law Debbie in Maine, which you looked forward to every year.
I still wait to take our countless exciting trips together to Rhode Island so you could visit with your life-long friends Mrs. Norma DiLibero and Mrs. Roselyn Reilly.
I still wait for your knock at my door as you would randomly stop by to visit Paul and I, including our cats Cody and Zoe.
I still wait to have those intense conversations about politics with you - As you all may know, Norma was such a staunch Democrat and she made sure she would participate in every single election including local, state and presidential elections.
I still wait to see you whizzing by me in the streets of Chicopee, as you drove by, in your fancy Chevy Spark, and you would happily wave at me.
I still wait to get invited to your many suppers at your house and finding a bottle of Moscato waiting for me at the table, and you would play the piano for Paul and I while insisting on playing Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata.
I still wait for you to constantly share your proud moments with me which included the birth of your great and grandchildren, your oldest son Bernie for doing so well now and striving in life, your son Paul for receiving the Bronze star in 2004, for his service in Iraq, your son David for getting hired at The Electric Boat Company in Quonset, RI, your son Stephen for becoming a firefighter in Johnston, RI.
I still wait to hear those constant stories of you growing up: how much you loved roller skating with your friends, sewing, and getting in trouble with your father for smoking corn cobb pipes with your friend Shirley behind your childhood house, and in later years, listening to “the Beatles”, and mastering organic gardening.
I still wait to constantly hear about that trip that you and your best friend Mable took to Block Island and how difficult it was to ride the rented bike up the hills because you ended up renting the most sophisticated bike there was.
I still wait to take those trips with you to Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont, visiting the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, where we would participate in harp sing a-longs, followed by afternoon tea where we would pretend to be filthy rich.
I still wait for you to be there for me, to defend me this one time at the bank when you and I walked in and the teller asked, you if I was your aid and in your feisty way you would say: No, this is my son-in-law. He is a Registered Nurse, and he is married to my son, who is in the Air Force.
My Dear Norma, although absent and I can no longer see you, your presence is always felt and you will always be in my heart. You will always be MISSED and LOVED!!!! GO WITH GOD, NORMA! GO WITH GOD!!!!
By: Humberto Brito Veresko