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……………………My grandfather Dell’Olio owned a four family house in Brooklyn with a large backyard and a finished basement. He had apple trees and fig trees. I don’t know what kind of apple trees they were, but I have never found an apple that tastes as good! My grandparents lived in the front apartment on the second floor and we lived in the back apartment. It had two bedrooms, a large kitchen with a huge window, a dining area, a good sized living room and one bathroom. My Aunt Mary, my father’s sister, lived in the front apartment on the first floor with her husband, my Uncle Vito. They had two daughters Phyllis, the oldest and Grace. I never met my Uncle Vito because he died in WW11 before I was born…..My Aunt Mary eventually remarried and had two more daughters, Angela and Barbara…….My oldest brother Mauro and my brother John played all the time with the girls. They were thick as thieves…..the four Musketeers. The photo at the lower right shows my mother and brothers and my Aunt Mary with my two cousins. The other pictures are of my brother Mauro’s Communion. My brother John had the best smile. He had the best dimples. It would be a few years before I made my appearance. Between me and my brother John my mother had a baby girl. She was full term but was still born. She had red hair like my mother, and they named her Grace. Grace is my grandmothers name and there would have been four girls named Grace in the family if my sister had lived……..My cousin Phyllis died at a young age from breast cancer. She left two young boys behind, Rickie and Jimmy who are now married with families of their own. My brother John passed away ta short time ago from Lymphoma. It was sudden. I know in my head that dying is part of the circle of life………but it doesn’t make it any easier……..They were beautiful children, and grew up to be beautiful adults.