Marie Fedri

Marie (Urbani) Fedri died peacefully in the Lord’s care on Jan. 9, 2015, of natural causes.

Born in the Tyrolean Alps to Carmella and Silvio Urbani, Marie walked and skied the steep mountain trails while growing into the self-confident, beautiful woman that made an indelible impression on all those who met her.

Marie traveled on the last voyage of the passenger ship Rex to Ellis Island just prior to the start of WWII with her mother, Carmela, sister, Yolanda, and brother, Aldo.

They joined her father in Niagara Falls, N.Y., while their sister, Delina, remained in Europe for the duration of the war.

She quickly set out to help her family adjust by securing a piece of the American Dream through her hard work and entrepreneurialism.

She exhibited her life-long natural talent as a business woman through the procurement of a two-family house that provided room and board for men coming to Niagara Falls to work in industries driven by the Niagara’s hydroelectric energy.

During that time, Eugene (Genie) Fedri made his way from Weston, Pa. to Niagara Falls in search of work, along with brothers, Beno, Albert and Richard.

A courtship blossomed between Marie and Genie. After a successful stint as a Fuller Brush salesman, Genie proposed and the two were married at Sacred Heart Church in Niagara Falls.

Soon after their marriage, Genie enlisted as a radar operator on B-17 bombers in Boca Raton, Fla. before deploying to Europe. Realizing an opportunity to advance herself, Marie set her sights on helping in the war effort to support the men who were off fighting the powers that had taken over her home country just three years earlier.

With no technical skills, she convinced the hiring supervisor at Bell Aircraft to let her work on the assembly line for Bell’s attack and troop support plane, the P-39 Air Cobra.

Innovating a simple change in the riveting tool, which proved successful in reducing rejected fuselage part assemblies, Marie was given an award for her efforts, and with new responsibilities she eventually became the foreman of a group of 30 women tasked with wiring airplane cockpit controls and instruments.

After the war, Marie focused her attentions on family, giving birth to two sons, Frederick (current resident of McKinney, Texas) and Ronald (current resident of Fountain Hills).

Over the years, Marie worked as a hostess at the Como Restaurant in Niagara Falls, where she met movie stars and political leaders from all over the world during the heady times of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Traveling to Houston to be present with her husband during his work on the Apollo Moon Mission, Marie often related how honored and proud she was to be present with Genie at events featuring astronauts and dignitaries.

Marie worked in the laundry room of St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, N.Y., but true to form she moved from folding clothes to preparing surgical packs for the medical teams at the hospital.

Marie became a supervisor at Ambassador Leather Goods in Niagara Falls, and later in Arizona when operations moved there in 1982. Never one to sit still for a minute, Marie worked at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital in the Food Services Department, and with her open, upbeat attitude she brought a bit of humor to patients and staff alike.

Marie was an accomplished singer, joining the choir at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Niagara Falls. She excelled as a gifted soprano and later sang in competitions and concerts with the Echo Club.

In Arizona, she joined the Church of the Ascension in Fountain Hills, where Genie and Marie settled in 1981 after selling their Swiss Alps architecturally- inspired dream home in Lewiston, a home decorated by Marie and her gift for design and taste for European elegance.

Everyone who visited the homes in Lewiston and Fountain Hills were greeted with strains of “The Sound of Music,” Luciano Pavarotti, and Andrea Bocelli playing with gusto in the background.

Family, friends and strangers were showered with a whole-hearted energy often accompanied with wine, a block of cheese, and bread, reminiscent of the old-world idea of hospitality.

Marie touched the lives of many. She will be dearly missed by her sister, Yolanda; son, Frederick and daughter-in-law, Pauline, with grandchildren Karen, Jonathan, Melanie, and their respective spouses, Alan, Stephenie and Nikhil; her son, Ronald, with granddaughters, Monica and Victoria with Nancy, and granddaughter, Veronica with Andrea and “adopted son,” Joseph Carosella of Niagara Falls.

She is predeceased by her husband, Eugene, and her parents, Carmella and Silvio; sister, Delina; and brothers, Aldo and Remo.

Services were held at the Messinger Mortuary, Fountain Hills, on Jan. 13, 2015.

Considerations for donations can be directed to The National Eye Institute; Building 31, Room 6A16; 31 Center Drive MSC 2510; Bethesda, MD 20892-2510. Please indicate that the donation is to be used for research at the NEI in memory of Marie Fedri with acknowledgments sent to the Messinger Mortuary address for forwarding to the family.