Denise Anderson-Decina

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Denise was such a dear friend who first entrusted me to care for Erin and Evan from a young age. Through the years we remained friends while our children were growing up. As we became grandparents, we’d meet for breakfast to share stories of our children. grandchildren and aging parents. Her love, wisdom, wit and the laughs will be memories I will cherish through the years. Rest in Heaven my dear friend.

I was so sad to hear of the passing of Denise. My condolences to her family. Thoughts and prayers for her family during thos difficult time.

I am saddened by the loss of a friend and diligent IAAGG member. Denise was an active member of IAAGG. She was on the Program Committee, presented at our 2020 and 2021 conferences; regularly attended our DNA Discussion Group meetings. I will miss our long, detailed discussions about the challenges and surprises of DNA Genetic Genealogy and African American family research. Charles Barker, IAAGG President

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Dear Rick, we are so heartbroken and sorry to hear of Denise’s passing. We so enjoyed seeing her and you at the office and wish you and your family our deepest sympathies. Dr. Gene Margiotti, Brenda, Sarah, Mandy and Karen.

Lit a candle in memory of Denise Anderson-Decina

Denise you were an inspiration during our fourteen months of ProGen48. So sorry to hear of your passing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam

Lit a candle in memory of Denise Anderson-Decina

I met Denise through IAAGG, but I found her to be so knowledgeable about all aspects of genealogy that I rarely missed any of her presentations. She was always very helpful and had a knack for explaining even the most complex topics in “lay” terms. I will definitely miss her and I offer my prayers and condolences to her family.

I am grateful for having workied with Denise at the Library. Enjoyed many conversations with her about life. She was a blessing! My deepest sympathy goes out to her family.

Denise was my neighbor across the street. She was the best, always a smile on her face. She would sit out front and she would always text me to come on over. We would talk about everything. Looked forward to that. She will be missed. Beautiful woman inside and out!

Denise was such a dynamic and engaging person. Way back in 2000 I first crossed paths with her when we were both new employees at IMCPL, filling out HR paperwork. Denise was the confident project manager, ready to tackle the new library building, while I was the nervous new librarian with my first professional job. Several winding paths later, I counted Denise as a trusted source of genealogical research expertise. Everyone who was lucky enough to meet Denise will agree that her caring, patience, humor, and gift for communicating will be terribly missed.

Lit a candle in memory of Denise Anderson-Decina

This wonderful and caring woman was my soul mate for 43 years and five months. She will be missed day and night for the rest of my life. She is in my memory from the first time I saw her in New Orleans at an ASTM meeting, to the first meal we shared at an ASTM committee dinner at Nantucket Cove in St Louis, to our first date after an ASTM committee dinner in Washington DC, to our first weekend together at her group’s rental house in Ocean City NJ, to many telephone calls late at night, to frequent weekend commutes between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for a year, to my first Decina reunion and meeting so many aunts, uncles and cousins I needed a cheat sheet, to our marriage in 1978, to our honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, to our relocation to Indianapolis a week later with Denise driving my stick shift MG Midget for the first time and me in the rental van pulling “Matilda” her old Plymouth, to getting our first condo in Greenwood and learning to live together, to enduring a two year MBA program as classmates, to buying our first and only house, to having our first child Erin, to having our second child Evan, to many school concerts, to many soccer games for both Erin and Evan, to spring breaks at Caribbean islands, to frequent visits and summers with my oldest son Randall, to seeing all three graduate high school and college, to seeing them start and change jobs so frequently their parents could only shake their heads, to seeing them marry and have children, to dealing with parents aging and dying, to starting a new adventure together in genealogical research with her patiently teaching me the whole way, to meeting newly discovered cousins at the Decina reunions that she, her brother, and cousin restarted in 2010 after many years without them, to meeting cousins in southern and northern Italy in a 2011 trip, to seeing some of them again in virtual “Covid” Decina reunions in 2020 and 2021, to finding that there was another plan for her. Oh what a vicious disease. My heart is aching. My eating is infrequent. My sleep is irregular. She is in a better place and no longer in pain.

Working with Denice at Indy PL was a privilege and joy. She was terrific at her job – herding all manner of cats- but most of all she had a great sense of humor and a huge heart.

My heart is sad yet full. Sad you are gone, yet full from crossing paths. Denise, your gifts to me were life-changing. I thank you!ߒžPeace to all who know and love you…

Denise became a client of mine over 6 years ago. We’ve shared many memories over the years in our “nail and toes appointment” as she called it. She’d always refer to me as her “tech guy” and “toe doctor”, but what meant the most was that she called me her friend. It was always a joy having her in the salon talking, and oh boy did she enjoy talking. Her eyes would light up when talking about family or as she navigated the subjects relating to genealogy. Then she would begin waving her hands animatedly as she talked.. her “Italian hands” that would often have me slowing her back down to do her manicure. We always found it a giggle to have her relax. Denise would always go out of her way to make sure I was fed. She was thoughtful in her picks of food. Each year, my family would enjoy the baked treats that she and Rick baked. The many flavors of biscottis. Pizzelles. Hershey Kisses. All bundled into a decorative tin that I got to share at home. She also introduced me to polenta, and how to cook it. She gave me a bag of real Italian polenta. Thank you for that. But what I remembered and loved the most was her passion about family. She talked often of Rick and then about his retirement and how they managed to integrate as a team for the genealogy business. It was extremely clear how much she loves you, Rick. She was amazingly proud of being Nonni. She was also amazingly proud of her children and how they grew up. Erin and Evan, and I do believe there was another but the name slips my mind so I truly apologize for that, but she loved you and talked so highly of you. She loved her family over in Philly and always talked about them. We got to learn so much about each other’s families over the years and that was very much a blessing. So thank you all for sharing Denise with me. Thank you for the amazing memories. I’m sorry for the long message, but thank you for letting me share bits of what we had with you.

Meeting Denise was a whirl wind. We were at a family get together at my brother’s. She was my nephew’s mother-in-law. It didn’t take long before Denise learned that I was the family historian with much to discover because my mother had never met relatives on her father’s side. He was an orphan. And Mom had only met aunts on her mother’s side once briefly when she was very young, but Mom thought her mother was American Indiana. We talked, but the room was loud. She had to lean close to hear. Finally, Denise said let’s go somewhere where we can talk. We ended up in my brother’s office where we had WiFi and could review my research. We talked all night. They broke us up when the night ended. I’d met a kindred soul. I looked forward to every family meeting knowing that Denise and Rick might attend. Denise always asked about research updates and gave enthusiastically gave suggestions on next steps. They became our family…cherished family. Bonnie

Lit a candle in memory of Denise Anderson-Decina