LORRAINE B. RAGO
Died Jan. 6, 2007
WILMINGTON, Del. -- Lorraine's 90 years of life were a wonderful blend of southern and northern ideals and traditions of charm, wisdom, culture, a strong work ethic, love and support of her family and caring for others. She died peacefully on Saturday, January 6, 2007 after struggling with Alzheimer's disease for several years.
She was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina where a typical day included tending to the large tobacco, animal and produce farm managed by her mother and father, Will and Effie Hines Braswell, and assisting with the raising of a family that included her 10 brothers and sisters. She studied cosmetology in North Carolina and was urged by her future sister-in-law, Ina Marie Rago, to bring her skills to Delaware, where she began a 40 year career as a hairstylist in Wilmington. She met and married Ralph F. Rago soon after arriving in Wilmington, and became a welcomed and cherished member of a large Italian family that included 11 brothers and sisters. Her husband, Ralph, predeceased her in 1981.
She is survived by her son, R. John Rago, who has forever remembered and learned from her lessons of life and her love and understanding of people of all backgrounds and traditions, her brother and his wife, Ralph and Ruby Braswell of Goldsboro, North Carolina, her sisters-in-law, Janie Braswell in Goldsboro, North Carolina and Gene Braswell in Little Rock, Arkansas, her brother-in-law and his wife, Gabriel and Betty Rago of Wilmington, her brother-in-law, Brother James Rago, OSFS, of Toledo, Ohio, and an extended family that includes nieces, nephews and their children, and friends and family in Delaware, North Carolina and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Lorraine's family extends deep appreciation to the wonderfully caring and loving staff at the Brandywine Convalescent Center on Greenbank Road which in recent years served as both her caregivers and, by virtue of the fact that Alzheimer's disease requires a great deal of love, compassion and understanding, her extended family.
Friends and family are invited to remember Lorraine at a memorial service on Saturday, January 13, at 9:30 a.m. at the Mealey Funeral Home at 7th and Broom Streets in Wilmington. She will be buried with her husband at Cathedral Cemetery on Lancaster Avenue.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to assist with the programs and services that provide for the love and care of others still residing at the Brandywine Convalescent Center at 505 Greenbank Road, Wilmington, Delaware, 19808. www.mealeyfuneralhomes.com.
(Written & Paid by the Family)
Published in Obituaries on January 10, 2007 2:17 PM