Velia Colombo (DeRose) Service Information

Velia Colombo, born Velia DeRose, died on Wednesday, November 10. She was 92 years old. Velia was an Italian by birth, an American by choice, and the chef by which all others in the family (and suburban Philadelphia, some may reckon) are measured. By her 18th birthday, she left her hometown of Roggiano Gravina, outside of the city of Cosenza in southern Italy, and arrived at Ellis Island. She had come to follow her father, who had found work on the railroad in the United States. English came to her slowly, but the peril of learning a new language did not stop her from meeting a charming redhead named Louis Colombo, whose Italian family had already settled in Philadelphia, which Velia came to call her home. After meeting at a wedding, Velia and Lou began dating, but they needed some help. Because Velia couldn’t understand English and Lou couldn’t understand Italian, her brother Tony had to sit between them and translate. That obstacle did not stop them and over the next six decades, Velia and Lou made a life together, complete with a butcher shop in Northeast Philadelphia, four loving daughters, and enough grandchildren to ensure Velia’s legendary meatball recipe was always put to good use. A private, soft-spoken person, Velia came alive as a cook and mother. Perhaps her proudest moment was living to see the birth of her 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by Louis, her husband of nearly 70 years, and is survived by children Julie Setzer (the late Edward), Velia McCabe (Jim), Susan Langenstein (Will) and Laina Spinelli (Dan). Velia, who once started life anew on a ship to a strange, new world, lived to see herself become an American and the matriarch of a family made in her image. She will be deeply missed. Relatives and friends are invited to call Monday, November 15th from 9:30 to 10:45am at St. Rose of Lima Church, 424 S. Main St. North Wales, PA 19454. Her Funeral Mass will follow at 11am. Entombment will take place at George Washington Memorial Park. --

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