COLUMBUS
Irma Dondi Pilotto was born December 29, 1922 in Castelfranco Emilia, a town near Bologna, Italy, daughter of Pietro Dondi and Ida Varotti, She had two sisters (Ilde and Eliana) and two brothers, Luigi and Vittorio. When in her teens the whole family moved to Mountauban, Southern France, where her father had been working. There she met the love of her life, a handsome Italian expat, Giacomo Pilotto, and they were married in 1942 during World War 2. She often recalled that their wedding honeymoon was a trip to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and, given the war, rations etc, they paid for their lodging with a sack of dry beans. They had three children, Graziella, born in France, Laura and Antonio, born in Italy. After the war, they moved back to Italy, to a small town, Tarcento, where she and Giacomo took over the management of Giacomo’s father Antonio’s grocery store and delicatessen. The quality and the excellence of Giacomo’s salami, sausages, cotechini, prosciutto, etc were well known in the area and often local expats would stock up on them before returning to their jobs abroad. Together they survived the terrible 1976 earthquake and rebuild their house and store and kept working until the late 80s when she had to retire after Giacomo suffered a stroke and she dedicated her time to his care. Irma loved to walk and every Sunday afternoon she packed a picnic and the whole family went hiking in the hills and mountains around town. Irma grew up in an age when, if you wanted pasta, you had to make it yourself and she learned well the art from her mother. On Sundays she would regale the family and guests with homemade tagliatelle, tortellini, ravioli, not to mention stupendous dishes of lasagna, a tradition which she passed on to her daughter Graziella and various great and great-grand children. Woman of great faith, she attended Mass at the Duomo in Tarcento practically every day before going to work. She was active in the women Azione Cattolica group. After her husband’s death in 2010, she was persuaded, at the age of 90, to move to the United States to live with her daughters, Graziella Bush and Laura Pilotto. She adjusted to the American life fairly well, although she always longed to go back home to Tarcento. In Columbus she enjoyed going to Mill Race fitness gym with her daughter Laura, where she pumped some iron, made a lot friends, never too shy to talk to people even if they didn’t know Italian. When she got tired of exercising, she would borrow a mop handle from the center and go out and walk in the park. This prompted some of her friends/volunteers, Jan and Pat, to have the wood carving teacher Pat Dodge, make a special, personalized walking stick for her, which became one her most prized possessions – she would show it proudly to anybody who came to the house. Every day she also walked with her daughter around the Noblitt lagoons and in the spring and summer evenings she loved to go to the community garden where Graziella cultivated her fabulous veggies. There too she made friends and was everybody’s grandma. She attended St. Bartholomew Catholic church and during the Covid lockdown she followed the Mass on her computer. She was always interested in the news from home and around the world, even politics -she was a great fan of Barak Obama- news which she would read every day on the internet. She loved to fly, and every year (until Covid) she fearlessly crossed the ocean to vacation in Italy. She was first in line to get the Covid vaccination.
Irma was preceded in death by her husband Giacomo, her parents, brothers and sisters and one grandchild, Thomas Johnson, of Columbus.
Irma is survived by her daughters, Graziella Bush, Laura Pilotto, Columbus, IN, and son Antonio Pilotto, retired Italian Air Force General (Laura Gritti) in Udine, Italy, grandchildren Antonella Kim Johnson-Vaccari (Enzo), Bologna, Italy, Paul Johnson (Annette) Monee, IL, Simone Pilotto, Rome, Italy and granddaughter-in-law Charlotte Johnson, greatgrandchildren, Victoria and Sarah Johnson (Columbus), Emily Vaccari ,London UK, Alessandro Vaccari ,Bologna Italy, Elisa and Jacopo Pilotto, Rome, Italy. Also surviving are numerous nieces and nephews in Italy and France.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place Monday, July 12 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church with Father Clem Davis officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana.
Online condolences and special memories may be shared with the family at barkesweaverglick.com
