Anna A. (Tranquillo) Zarra

Mrs. Anna A. (Tranquillo) Zarra, 81, of Cheshire, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Anna was cherished by all who knew her. Beloved wife of 61 years of Ernesto, adored mother of Anthony, Nancy, Joseph and Patricia. Devoted mother-in-law to Angelia, Robert, Lisa and Todd. Loving grandmother of Nicole, Rachel and her husband Ryan, Frank, Michael, Sarah, Joey and Katie. Adoring great grandmother of James.

Anna was born on July 27, 1942, in Gioia, Sannitica, Italy, and was the youngest daughter of Giuseppe and Pasqualina (Romano) Tranquillo, sister to Raffaela and her husband Panfilo Michelangelo, and to her brother Anthony (deceased) and his wife Anne Marie Tranquillo. Anna immigrated to the US in 1955 and settled in Southington, CT, where she graduated from Southington HS. She brought all of her Italian traditions with her, sharing them with generations of family and friends. She loved gardening and cooking, and welcomed all warmly to her home and table, serving up plates of delicious homemade pastas, meatballs and sauces, fresh vegetables and fruits, most from her and her husband’s own gardens.

Anna extended her loving care beyond her immediate family, providing for her husband’s parents and her own, as well as caring for her nieces and nephews as if they were her own children. Anna worked in many different positions, including her job at Everybody’s/Big Y in Cheshire as a cashier, where she met and made many friends over her many years there before her retirement. Anna was a member of the Italian Rosary Group and a long-time parishioner of St. Bridget of Sweden Parish in Cheshire. She was generous with her time, and had the rare gift of making everyone feel special and appreciated and most importantly, loved. She had a kind and giving nature, and was completely devoted to her family, celebrating each new member with genuine happiness. She led a good and meaningful life, full of laughter, travel, smiles and wonderful memories for each and every one of us who had the good fortune to know her.

Anna’s family and friends are warmly invited to gather at the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home, 615 S. Main St., Cheshire, on Sunday afternoon from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Funeral services in celebration of Anna’s life will be held on Monday, June 10, 2024, beginning at 9:15 am from the funeral home and proceed to St. Bridget of Sweden Parish-St. Bridget Church, 175 Main St., Cheshire, for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am. Prayers of committal and interment will follow in St. Bridget Cemetery in Cheshire. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the Cheshire Community Food Pantry, Inc. PO Box 457, Cheshire, CT 06410. For additional information or to leave words of sympathy, please visit www.fordfh.com.