Angelina Brown

Our dear beloved mother Angelina was born in Pozzuoli, Italy in 1928 on The Feast of The Guardian Angels and went back to God on that beautiful feast day 94 years later.  She was one of ten children born to Francesco and Maria Casillo. During World War II, our father Leonard Petroni was an American soldier stationed in Italy and met our beautiful mother there and the two were married. Our mother spoke no English and our father spoke no Italian. They would communicate through an Italian English dictionary. Their love exceeded the language barrier. We remember stories of their courtship and mom chuckling as she told us of dad dancing the jitter bug in his army boots. Some of us used to sneak into a box mom had of personal items and delight as we would read dads love letters he wrote to her after he was shipped out of Italy as the fighting continued. After the war, our mother and our oldest brother joined our dad in The States where they raised a family of six children. Our family was big, loud and crazy but we all loved one another. Our home was filled with beautiful Italian music and delicious Italian food. Family and friends were always welcomed and our home was a gathering place. Later in life Angelina married Glenn Brown whom she loved very much and spent many happy years with. Our mother’s Catholic Faith was extremely important to her and she did all she could to instill that faith into her six children.

She had a deep love and devotion to Our Blessed Mother, The Madonna, as well as the Catholic Faith above all and a love for our Italian heritage and culture. She loved her family very much, her children, her grandchildren and great grandchildren and on her last day on this earth she met her great great grandchild , Joseph Jr. Faith and family ….. these were the most important to our beautiful mother Angelina!

She is proceeded in death by her parents, Francesco and Maria Casillo, her brothers, Vincenzo, Giovanni, Benito and her sisters Gilda and Mafalda, our father, Leonard Petroni and their two sons Rick Petroni and Kenny Petroni and her husband, Glenn Brown. She is survived by her three sisters: Carmela, Italia and Auroa, her children Frank Petroni, Connie Petroni, Linda Dwyer and Dean, and Debra Petroni, many grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren. She was so loved by all and will be sorrowfully missed.

A Rosary will be held on Monday, October 10, 2022 at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E Indian School Road, Phoenix, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM with Rosary beginning at 6:00. A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at 10:00 AM at Saint Thomas The Apostle Church, 2312 E Campbell Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Interment to follow at Saint Francis Cemetery.