As 82-year-old Louise Ezzi thinks about her life, she ponders not only how far she’s come, but how much there is left to do.
“I walk around every day and say, ‘Thank you, God, for allowing me to see your beauty today,’” says Ezzi, who for the past two years, has lived at the Village Apartments in Cherry Hill, one of the living complexes overseen by the Diocesan Housing Services Corporation of the Diocese of Camden.
In a similar way, Dolores McAveety, 83, fills her days with God’s gifts. A resident of Benedict’s Place – also run by the DHSC and located across the street from Ezzi’s residence – McAveety looks forward to being with family as well as visits from the Eucharistic minister who brings her Holy Communion.
When not playing cards with fellow residents, listening to Rod Stewart, doing the daily crossword on her phone or watching a favorite British television mystery, McAveety can also be found on some covert faith missions: slipping some Saint Jude bracelets on her great-grandchildren.
After all, she says, “I don’t know how one gets through life without faith. It’s my guiding light.”
Ezzi and McAveety are just two examples of those Pope Leo calls to celebrate as the Catholic Church in the United States recognizes the sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on Sept. 13. Celebrated in the Church worldwide on July 26, the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the U.S. bishops transferred the celebration to the first weekend after Labor Day to coincide with National Grandparents Day.
“The celebration of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly is an opportunity to rediscover that the Church is called to be a mother to all, and that at any age, it is always possible to recognize ourselves as sons and daughters of God,” reads Pope Leo’s message for this year’s celebration. “May this day, therefore, be an inspiration for everyone, especially the young, to revive the beautiful custom of visiting their grandparents, the elderly members of the family and even those who have no one to visit them.”
Family Mentors
Friends and family of Ezzi and McAveety – both parishioners of Saint Thomas More in Cherry Hill – know each woman comes from a background of hard work, family and faith – values they continue to pass on to all those they encounter.
Born in Philadelphia, the second of four children, Ezzi’s family ended up moving to Marlton. Her father opened a catering hall, and one of her first jobs was helping the family build it when she was around 8 or 9 years old.
“I would hand my grandfather cinderblocks, and he would teach me how to mix and lay cement,” she recalls.
Her father was dedicated to keeping the family secure. “He was all about integrity, hard work, honesty and family.”
McAveety, too, carries the wisdom of her father, albeit a different way. Growing up in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children, she and her family were faithful parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church.
When she was 7, her mother died. Her father, a truck driver, pressed on and did his best to keep positive vibes in the house amidst the grief.
“He was always in a good mood,” she remembers.
Eight years later, he died of rheumatic fever; the 15-year-old McAveety was taken in by her aunts, uncles and cousins in a nearby rowhome. “We were close, and they were good, honest people.”
Fruitful and Busy Lives
Ezzi got married at 19, staying home to raise her sons, Adam and John. When the relationship with her husband ended, she returned to the family business (All Occasion Caterers) to help her father. She proposed attaching a restaurant to the hall, and he agreed.
Soon, she was working 14-hour days to provide for her family. “I would do food prep in the morning, work through lunch and food prep for dinner,” she says. “Then, I would go home and shower, and come back and be a hostess for dinner.”
In 1988, when the family business was bought out, Ezzi went off on her own, pivoting to sales in the sign industry. She started her own sign company in Berlin, and later, her children came aboard – Adam as a graphic artist and John as an installer.
Being a leader in the sign business, however, didn’t stop the discrimination she faced working in a primarily male-oriented profession.
“I visited a construction site once, and a man asked me, ‘What are you doing here?’” Ezzi remembers.
Whether constructive criticism or snarky comments, she didn’t let anything stop her success. “It all gave me self-worth, dignity and pride. I could do this job.”
After almost 20 years in the industry, she retired to spend more time with her second husband, as well as her sons, grandsons and great-grandchildren.
McAveety looks back on a life dedicated to putting food on the table for her family, too. After graduating from Hallahan High School, she began her 30-year career as a telephone operator for various Philadelphia institutions, including Pearl Pressman Liberty Communications and Saint Mary Hospital (now Saint Mary Medical Center).
At the same time, she was busy raising her children, Timothy and Maureen. She eventually moved from Philadelphia to Cherry Hill with her daughter and grandchildren.
Today, she is on oxygen due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – and admits it’s been a bad year. Her brother died, her favorite grocery store closed and her pulmonary doctor retired. But McAveety remains as resilient, faithful and thankful as ever.
“In tough times, you find out what you’re made of,” she says. “You keep walking.”
Ezzi agrees. “The most important thing is to be kind; the world needs it.”
Staff writer Peter G. Sánchez contributed to this article.
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