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Remembering Martha Tringali – Rosary High School Days
For Rosary students who attended classes at the Edgelawn campus from 1965-1966, you may remember our first hot-lunch program headed by Martha Tringali, mother of then Rosary students Karen Tringali (’66) and Diane Tringali.
Martha showed up each day with her 3-year old son in tow. Coming from a large family herself, she was no stranger in the kitchen and developed a menu that was both nutritious and tasty. The hands-down favorite dish during that first year was a Friday entrée created by Chef Martha … tuna boats! Homemade tuna salad was scooped into crusty rolls and then passed quickly under the broiler to toast the tops. They were a big hit and often requested on days other than Friday.
After Karen graduated in 1966, the Tringali family (Joe, Martha and their six children) drove to Southern California in their station wagon towing a popup camping trailer. They enjoyed plenty of adventures on the road between Aurora, IL and Anaheim, CA. They eventually found a home not far from Disneyland and settled in. Most of the family members remain in Southern California; two of the six children now live in Northern California.
Martha was 98 ½ when she died. She lived her life simply, filled with the love of family and friends.
Obituary below published by Los Angeles Times on Dec. 18, 2022.
Martha Tringali
May 25, 1924 - December 11, 2022
In August 1966, Martha Tringali (née, Coyne) stood inside her kitchen in Aurora, Illinois, while her husband and six children waited in the driveway in a yellow station wagon-packed to its door frames and hooked up to a camper trailer-and wept as she said goodbye to everything she had known: her home, that small town, her parents, siblings and extended family, the work days, school days, good days, bad days, and every single familiar day that had preceded this day, the day she would move across the country to California and begin the rest of her life. She was 42.
On Sunday, December 11, Martha died not long after dawn—a nod, here, to the small town of her origin named for the goddess of that early morning light, and where on May 25, 1924, Martha was born, the first person in her family to do so in a hospital. She was 98 years old.
Martha's life and her accomplishments would barely register on the scale of our current standards of success, but such is the genuine beauty of a life uniquely lived. She worked outside of the home in industry, in a high school cafeteria, and in a hospital; she worked at home, taking care of the children of other working mothers; she was a seamstress who variously sewed everyday outfits, suits for professionals, Catholic school uniform skirts, and costumes for cheerleaders. She will be remembered for what she generously baked in her kitchen and shared with others: batches of cookies, pies, fudge, jellies and jams, cream puffs, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, birthday cakes, scones, and eclairs. But mostly what she shared was love.
Martha is survived by her daughter Karen Tringali (partner, John); daughter Diane Tringali (partner, Willie); son James Tringali (wife, Theresa); daughter Sarah Vogel (husband, Randy); daughter Melissa Valeriote (husband, Rick); son Mark Tringali; and eight grandchildren. All eight of them know their way around a kitchen.
Martha Tringali
May 25, 1924 - December 11, 2022
In August 1966, Martha Tringali (née, Coyne) stood inside her kitchen in Aurora, Illinois, while her husband and six children waited in the driveway in a yellow station wagon-packed to its door frames and hooked up to a camper trailer-and wept as she said goodbye to everything she had known: her home, that small town, her parents, siblings and extended family, the work days, school days, good days, bad days, and every single familiar day that had preceded this day, the day she would move across the country to California and begin the rest of her life. She was 42.
On Sunday, December 11, Martha died not long after dawn—a nod, here, to the small town of her origin named for the goddess of that early morning light, and where on May 25, 1924, Martha was born, the first person in her family to do so in a hospital. She was 98 years old.
Martha's life and her accomplishments would barely register on the scale of our current standards of success, but such is the genuine beauty of a life uniquely lived. She worked outside of the home in industry, in a high school cafeteria, and in a hospital; she worked at home, taking care of the children of other working mothers; she was a seamstress who variously sewed everyday outfits, suits for professionals, Catholic school uniform skirts, and costumes for cheerleaders. She will be remembered for what she generously baked in her kitchen and shared with others: batches of cookies, pies, fudge, jellies and jams, cream puffs, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, birthday cakes, scones, and eclairs. But mostly what she shared was love.
Martha is survived by her daughter Karen Tringali (partner, John); daughter Diane Tringali (partner, Willie); son James Tringali (wife, Theresa); daughter Sarah Vogel (husband, Randy); daughter Melissa Valeriote (husband, Rick); son Mark Tringali; and eight grandchildren. All eight of them know their way around a kitchen.
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