Paula L. (DelBene) Turco of Tewksbury was at peace when she passed away on Wednesday, November 20th at the age of 86. She was the daughter of the late Bernadino 'Benny' and Catherine (Anastasi) DelBene.
Paula was the beloved and devoted wife of the late Joseph A. Turco. She is survived by her three children: Paula D. Turco, Joseph A. Turco Jr. and his wife Lisa, and Jana DiNapoli; her two grandchildren Alex and Katrina DiNapoli; and her sister Anna Blonde and her husband Frank - all of whom she loved deeply. She was the dear sister of the late Freddie DelBene, Millie Richard and Jimmy DelBene.
Born in Cambridge, Paula was raised in Medford. Due to some chronic health issues with her mom, and being the eldest daughter in the family, she took on a mothering role for her siblings at a very young age. From this she developed an incredibly strong work ethic that she maintained throughout her life. She was also very sensitive and selfless, always there to devote her time and talents to help out family and friends alike.
Paula graduated from Medford High in 1956, and though she got a scholarship to attend Bentley School of Accounting and Finance, she instead chose to take care of her family. She was able to put her talent with numbers to good use though, as she did the bookkeeping for her father's business, DelBene's Meat Market, in Boston's North End. Along with the bookkeeping she also delivered orders to restaurants - which was a good thing since it was from making deliveries that she met and fell in love with her husband of 60 years, Joe.
Joe and Paula married in 1964 and soon after moved to Woburn, where they raised their family of 3 children. Being a stay-at-home mom, she did a *lot* of cooking - which was another good thing, since she took after her mom as a great cook. She made the best meatballs and Sunday gravy ("it's not sauce - it's gravy!"), but was probably most famously known for her pizzelle cookies, which absolutely everyone craved.
Paula enjoyed swimming (in her youth she would swim across the bay at her family's beach house in Nantasket), candelpin bowling (star of the Woburn Women's Wednesday Morning Coffee League), dancing (the Rumba and Cha-Cha were two of her favorites), and of course, the Red Sox (she'd watch or listen to nearly every game). But above all else, she found the most joy in life being a Nana: she absolutely cherished her two grandchildren, Alex and Katrina, of whom she was always so proud.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 AM on Saturday, November 30th at St. William Church, 1351 Main St, Tewksbury. Please meet at church. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend and may visit with the family on Friday, November 29th, from 3-7 PM at the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St., Medford.