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Elizabeth Repetti, lifelong Villager, 97

By Albert Amateau

Elizabeth Repetti, who was born, raised and raised her own family in the Village, died Fri., April 30, at 97.

“She was healthy and mentally sharp until six months ago when she began to get weak, but she never lost her mental edge,” said her son George.

She was born to Christina and Louis DeMartini on Roosevelt St., which ran from Pearl St. and Park Row to South St. until the 1950s when Chatham Green and the Al Smith Houses were built.

The family moved to the Village when she was 3 years old and she attended public schools in the Village. Elizabeth married Joseph Repetti, a Village neighbor, and raised their family on Downing St.

“When I was going to Our Lady of Pompeii School, she and my father were active in the parents club. Our Lady of Pompei was our family church and our lives revolved around it,” George said.

Joseph Repetti, who worked as an insurance agent, died in 1993. His brother, John Repetti, started the local plumbing business that bears the family name.

“My mother was a volunteer at St. Vincent’s Hospital for 25 years,” said her son. “She was what they called a ‘patient representative’ beginning when she was 68.

“She used to walk from where she lived on Charlton St. to St. Vincent’s three days a week, unless it was raining,” he said. “Sometimes she’d take the bus home. When she was 90 she went once a week. She told me she stopped going to St. Vincent’s when she was 93 because she was tired. I got tired just listening to how she was walking half a mile a couple of days a week,” George said.

Perazzo Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., was in charge of arrangements. A funeral Mass was held Wed., May 5.