Virginia Migliore

Born: Buffalo, New York, November 18, 1929

Died: Rochester, New York, August 26, 2025

On November 18, 1929 Virginia Migliore was born, the youngest of five children, to an immigrant family from Abruzzo Italy, in Buffalo, New York. At the age of six months old, her mother, Mary (Mastrella) DeCesare died, leaving her father, Joseph DeCesare trying to figure out how to care for their children. He decided to take his family back to their small mountain town of Villa Vallalonga, Abruzzo, South Central Italy.

At the age of six, after he had a fall and broke his back, Joseph died, scattering his children among orphanages and other family members, and leaving Virginia essentially an orphan. Afterwards, she suffered many difficult years in Italy, and during the war, saw many traumatizing things during the German Army occupation of her small mountain town.

Virginia’s predeceased older sisters, Teresa and Rosa eventually went off on their own when they were old enough to find their way. They later returned to the United States. Virginia’s other brother and sister, Nickolas and Angelina, sadly passed away as children.

After the war, born a US Citizen, in 1948 Virginia also decided to head back to the United States, as a 19 year old with no money, and not speaking any English. Her Aunt Lena Mastrella in Buffalo, New York was kind enough to invite her to live initially with her family. Virginia then moved to nearby Rochester to live for a time with her uncle.

Virginia, like many Italian immigrants of the time, having little formal education, became employed as a union seamstress as a button hole sewer in the then-bustling garment industry in Rochester at the fine suit manufacturer Michaels Stern.

Through their Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) Union colleagues, she and her future husband, Charles Migliore, a machinist, button-maker and longtime ACWA shop steward at the nearby Rochester Button Company, met on a blind date. They soon married on November 22, 1951, and went on to have four children, Virginia (Ginny), Patricia, Marcus and Dean.

Charles and Virginia and their young daughter Ginny moved into their house on Indiana Street in Rochester in 1954. Virginia was an excellent and totally dedicated home maker, house manager and cook for her family. She made her husband and children EVERY meal, and very much disliked going out to a restaurant (or anywhere else) for a meal.

In her mid-fifties, Virginia joined her husband to work at the Rochester Button Company factory for several years, in part to help pay for their son’s rent while he was in law school in Washington, D.C.

After her husband Charles fell ill and died in 1986, Virginia soldiered on for almost 40 years as a widow, fully devoted to her faith, children and family for the remainder of her long life.

Despite her many challenges, or maybe because of them, Virginia maintained a positive attitude of generosity, kindness and empathy towards others her entire life. A longtime parishioner and daily mass attendee of St. John the Evangelist parish in Rochester, Virginia saw to it that all of her children went to parochial school and prioritized their education, sacrificing greatly for all of them.

Virginia went on to spend a total of 71 years in the family house on Indiana Street, serving as the anchor and strength of her family, until she died there on August 26, 2025.

She is survived by her Daughters Virginia (John) Migliore, Patricia (Scott) Zupnick, sons Marcus (Susan) and Dean, and by her pride and joy, her granddaughters Marisa and Christina Migliore.