Anna Rose (Canali) Pigliavento

Rotterdam - Anna (Canali) Pigliavento passed away peacefully on June 28th, 2020 at Ellis Hospital after a brief illness. Anna was born on December 20th, 1930 in the house and property that she would call home for all 89 years of her life. She often regaled others with stories of her childhood as the youngest ‘spoiled’ daughter of her beloved parents, the late Henry and Laura Canali. Family and friends were the heart of their Italian American Community and she reveled and adored the esteem of her father who passed away suddenly before her 20th birthday. On many occasions, she recounted a “vision” that she had of him several days after his passing where he lovingly approached her and exhorted her to make him proud. Her lifelong conviction to work hard and give generously to her family was her commitment to fulfill this entreaty and honor his legacy. In 1947, Anna went to work for her sister, the late Eugenia (Jean) Alteri and brother-in-law, the late Petero Alteri as they launched Canali’s Restaurant in Rotterdam. Anna delighted in the opportunity to derive an income as a waitress and she faithfully served customers there for over 50 years until her retirement in 2003. It was while working at Canali’s that she met the love of her life, the late Edward ‘Ed’ Pigliavento. They married in the early 50’s, and after raising 4 sons, their progeny grew exponentially as ‘Mema’ and ‘Poppi Ed’ went on to have 17 grandchildren as well as 10 great-grandchildren (and counting). With the success of Ed’s construction company (Pigliavento Builders) and Anna’s work as a waitress, they were able to enjoy travel and leisure in their golden years until Ed’s passing from cancer in 1995. Although broken-hearted, Anna cherished the memories of those blissful experiences as her grief evolved into a profound sense of gratitude for the many blessings in her life. In fact, the comment, “I have been very blessed,’” became a common refrain from Anna even during her very last days as she nostalgically described her husband’s abiding affection and her overflowing joy in the knowledge that all of her boys married “wonderful girls”. In addition to her husband, parents, and sister, (Eugenia), Anna was predeceased by her sisters Connie Mercoglan, and Mary Caprara, and brothers Joseph Canali, and Vincent (Jimmy) Canali. Left to cherish her memory are her sons David (Anne Marie) Pigliavento, Edward (Adele) Pigliavento Jr., Phillip (Kathleen) Pigliavento, and Michael (Jeanne) Pigliavento as well as her grandchildren Laura (Mike) Seredensky, David (Sherry) Pigliavento, Gregg Pigliavento, Vanessa (Dennis) DiGesare, Alisha (Nick) Houle, Michael John Pigliavento, Edward Pigliavento III, Ashley Pigliavento, Andrea (Jacob) Rohrer, Phillip Pigliavento Jr, Matt Pigliavento, Dan Pigliavento, Joe Pigliavento, Chris (Jill) Pigliavento, Kailin Pigliavento (Cameron Jackson), Nicole Pigliavento, and Grace Pigliavento. She is also survived by many great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, Anna’s family requests donations be made in her memory to the Schenectady City Mission, 425 Hamilton St., Schenectady, NY 12305. Additionally, the family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to Ms. Mary for her years supporting and providing aide and friendship to Anna.