Theresa M. Laloggia

Theresa Marie LaLoggia, 92, entered the gates of Heaven on September 4, 2020.

Born June 4, 1928 to Rosario and Lillian (Rotello) Parlapiano, she was a lifelong Rockford resident until in her 80’s when she moved to Belvidere and cried because her city began with a B instead of an R. Theresa was a member of St. Anthony of Padua Church, attended St. Anthony Grade School and was a 1946 graduate of Muldoon High School. She first met her husband, Cono, on a cold, snowy day leaving JC Penny in downtown Rockford, when she slipped and fell on the ice. As he came to her rescue, she looked up at him and said “I just fell for you.” Later they officially met at St. Elizabeth Center at choral practice, fell in love and married on April 29, 1950. Theresa worked at Cono’s Beauty and Barber Shop as a beautician; worked in a law firm as a legal secretary; and at the Winnebago County Court House in the Circuit Clerks office as a court reporter. Theresa’s greatest and most joyful position in life was serving her God, her church, and her family. She never said no to helping others volunteering at the School of Hope, St. Edward Catholic Church and School and her precious St. Anthony of Padua Church. Theresa was a Holy Duster, a lecture, Eucharistic Minister both at church and for the homebound, washed and ironed altar linens, a member of Altar and Rosary, a choir member and helped with the Saint Joseph Day Altar. Theresa followed in her mother’s footsteps and over the years baked hundreds of thousands of Italian cookies and shared all of them. She made them with love and anyone who wanted to could join in on the fun of baking for weddings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, graduations and any other event you could think of. Her favorite club was her Knit Wits (Rosie, ChiChi, Joanie, Diane, Sue, and Jo) which included more talking and eating than knitting. She will always be remembered for her ear-piercing smooches that she planted on any cheek available.

A special thanks to the Administrative Team, Nurses, CNAs, Activity Aides, and the Cleaning Staff, at Alden Debes for the loving care they gave to our mom during the last months of her life. A very special thank-you to OSF Hospice nurse, Lisa for all the love and care she gave to our mom. We are so filled with love and gratitude to Keisha and Lisa for holding our mom’s hands until the very end when we could not.

Meeting her at the Gates of Heaven is her husband, Cono of 63 years; her sweet baby LaLoggia; loving parents; sisters, Mary, Little Martha, Martha and Josephine; great-granddaughter, Arabella. Theresa is survived by her brother, Joseph Parlapiano; children Michael, Jeanine, Lilyann (Steve) Marx and Ross (Tammy Bryan); grandchildren, Sarah (Todd) Schneider, Stacey (Mike) Dupont, Michael Ross LaLoggia (fiancé, LaChelle Morden), Anthony (Amy) Marx, Steven (Amanda) LaLoggia, Marc LaLoggia and Matthew LaLoggia; great grandchildren, Harrison and Alessa Schneider, Ayreon and Liam LaLoggia, Natalie and Madison LaLoggia, Lucy and Jack Marx, and Ashton LaLoggia; her very special sister-in-law, Geanie LaLoggia-Caywood, Salvatore and Judy LaLoggia, many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, September 12, 2020, with a walk-through visitation from 9:00-10:00 AM at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church; 1010 Ferguson St. Due to restrictions, those wishing to attend the funeral mass must sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/laloggia or call the church at 815-965-2761 ext. 0 Masks are required and social distancing guidelines will be in effect. Burial will conclude in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations will be taken to support St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. For those who are unable to travel or attend in person, or have any Covid-19 related issues, live streaming will be available to view Theresa’s funeral Mass via the Facebook link at stanthonyrockford.org and by Zoom ID: 810-290-6045.

We hope to have a big celebration for Theresa during her birthday month of June with a Memorial Mass and Luncheon without masks and social distancing.

Arrangements entrusted to Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory. Share online memories and condolences at www.fitzgeraldfh.com