Mary DiGiorno Ventrice

Mary DiGiorno Ventrice, age 93, of Pittsburgh, died on Monday, April 7, 2025.

She was born in Mount Oliver on December 26, 1931 and was the daughter of the late Frank DiGornio and Lucy Potenziani DiGiorno. Professionally, she worked as both a secretary at Blue Cross Blue Shield, and later in life as a telemarketing manager at the American Heart Association.

But her life’s work was in Sunday dinners—making sure that the chicken was frying by the time we walked into the house; spaghetti and homemade marinara already on the table; refusing to sit down until every single one of us was crammed in the dining room together, chairs pulled from every corner of the house and elbows in each other’s food; leftovers to last for days; and, no matter how full we said we were, insisting that we have a slice of apple pie.

Mary is survived by her brother, Joseph (JoAnn) DiGiorno; her brother-in-law, Pete Priselac; her children, Ronald (Sandi) Ventrice of Gibsonia, Richard (Sandy) Ventrice of Pittsburgh, and Susan (Mark) Tortorice of Port Vue; and many grandchildren (Marla, Mandy, Markie, Matthew, and Ryan), and great-grandchildren (Rory, Mathias, and Selah).

In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her loving husband of 70 years, Joseph Ventrice, and her sister, Dolly Priselac.

Family and friends are invited to gather to honor Mary’s memory on Friday, April 11, 2025 at Strifflers of White Oak Cremation and Mortuary Services, 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (Sue Striffler Galaski, supervisor, 412 678 6177) from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. when services will begin. A burial will follow.

To share a memory or condolence, please visit www.strifflerfuneralhomes.com

In Loving Memory

"To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go."

—Mary Oliver, In Blackwater Woods