Edith Dorothy Defilippo

Edith Dwyer Defilippo (91) passed away peacefully and with loved ones by her side on November 7, 2021. Edith was born in Mount Vernon, New York on May 17, 1930. Her parents were Robert and Caroline Thornton. Edith had an older sister, Betty, who predeceased her. Edith graduated from Evander Childs High School at age 16 and began working in the five and ten cents store. She met the love of her life, Peter Joseph Dwyer, and married him when she was eighteen. Together they raised six children. While the children were young Edith volunteered at local hospitals and then when the youngest of her children was in first grade Edith decided to go back to school and obtain her nursing degree. Edith eventually received her Masters Degree in Nursing and and was a Home Health Care Nurse at White Plains Hospital, New York when she retired at the age of 81. When Peter died suddenly in 1979, Edith was only 48 and working at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, New York. There she eventually met Lee DeFilippo, her second great love, and they married in 1982. They lived together in Bronxville until his death in 1993. Edith’s greatest love was her children and, in later years, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was known for her macaroni and cheese casserole and also her chicken parmigiana, and loved to bake cupcakes for birthdays. When March came around, Edith was also known for her love of sunbathing in the backyard and then family days at Orchard Beach, New York, during the summer. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were always family celebrations at the house with aunts and uncles and cousins and any friends who didn’t have a place to go. Edith was known for her exuberance and love of life and especially her love of music and dancing. She started with Big Band music and Frank Sinatra but in recent years even listened to Adele with her grandson. Edith was also a firm believer in the value of education and encouraged all of her children and grandchildren to do their best and find their passion. Those fortunate enough to know Edith would attest to her big heart and unconditional love in addition to her beauty and love of life. Edith is preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Caroline Thornton, her sister Elizabeth (Betty) and brother-in-law Walter Koch, her first husband Peter, and her second husband Lee. She is survived by her six children, Michael (Jessica), Maureen (Mark), Marianne Pappas, Peter (Cathleen), Nancy Overlander (Craig), and Kathleen Williams (Richard); fifteen grandchildren, Jason, Jonathan, Ashley, Jessica, Kelley, Colleen, Blake, Haley, Lindsay, Trey, Ailish, Keegan, Peter, Devin and Vincent; nine great-grandchildren, Ava, Jax, Ella, Jackson, Liam, Hannah, Tyler, Molly and Luke; and numerous nieces and nephews and friends. A burial and celebration of life will be planned at a later time. Gordon Funeral Service and Crematory, 1904 Lancaster Ave, Monroe, NC 28112 is caring for the Defilippo Family.