Gardelli Motors

In Memory Of:     

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On Friday Oct. 28, 2022 at 11:50 pm, after a long and very painful battle with cancer my wife Maria Santelli passed away peacefully surrounded by the family she loved so much in the home she loved. She had just turned 58 on Oct 17. She always did everything her own way. Even though her pain was unbearable, she was a warrior in the true sense of the word and never gave up her fight, even at the very end. The strength she showed was truly inspirational. Her nurse and palliative doctor told us that she was the strongest patients they had ever seen in all their years or health care.

We worked together at Gardelli Motors so her passing leaves a massive hole, one that can never be filled. We didn't always see eye to eye and in the end she was usually correct. Most married men know what I'm talking about. 

Maria always put everyone else before herself. Even in the last months of her fight when she needed her pain medication in the middle of the night she would rather endure the pain than wake one of us up to give it to her. It is so unfair that such a selfless person could be put through so much suffering for so long. I don't think I will ever be able to make sense of that. I have to believe that she was so special that she deserved to be in a better place and that's why she was taken from us so early.

From the moment she had our first child she devoted her life to raising our three sons. Judging by the way that they turned out, it was the right decision to make. She did such an amazing job. We have Anthony (31) who's a nurse, Michael (29) who's a dentist and Nicholas (24) who's a software engineer. She was so proud of them and all their accomplishments.

Incredibly we first met when I was only about 4 years old. I don't remember it, but she always did because she was a little older than me. Then years later the stars aligned and our paths crossed again. Our first date was 36 years ago. So many years, so many memories. Our lives will never be the same.

This photo is of Maria about 6 years ago at her sister's wedding just before the disease got a hold of her. I think this is the way she would want to be remembered. As you can see, she stole the show that day, just like she did almost every day of her life.

I miss you every day and I will love you forever.