Tomasina Anna Pollastrini, 86, of Huntley IL, died peacefully March 29, 2020.
Tomasina was born June 16, 1933 in Chicago, the daughter of Vincent and Anna Zenzola. After her mother died very early in life, Tomasina was lovingly raised by her father and stepmother, Phyllis (Gucciardi) Zenzola. She graduated from Austin High School in 1951. On October 12, 1957 she married Anthony F. Pollastrini, the oldest son of Italian immigrants from the city of Lucca in Tuscany.
She was a devoted wife, a wonderful mother to her eight children, and a welcoming neighbor and friend, residing for many years in suburban Addison. She brought her heartfelt concerns and compassion for others and her love of children and families everywhere she lived.
Throughout her life she has been dedicated to her Catholic faith with a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary. She was deeply involved in the church, loved the rosary, always had a kind word to say or write, and took special delight in praying for others. She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church for the last 20 years. She took great pleasure in entertaining and taking care of people. She was an amazing baker, known especially for her cream puffs and Christmas cookies.
She is survived by her husband, Anthony, her children, John Pollastrini, Anthony (Sheila) Pollastrini, Christopher (Laurie) Pollastrini, Lawrence (Janet) Pollastrini, Vincent Pollastrini, Geriann (Alex) Gatziolis, Ronald Pollastrini, and Michael (Barbara) Pollastrini, by her 19 beautiful grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren, 3 sisters, Frances Boffa, Connie Cacini, and Michelin (Brad) Taylor, and brother Edward (Pamela) Zenzola and numerous nieces and nephews.
Tomasina was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, and dear friend who will be missed by all who knew her.
Due to the current national situation, a Private Funeral Mass for the immediate family only will be held on Friday, April 3. The family would encourage everyone to leave a message or story for the family at www.defiorefuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or McHenry County Right to Life at www.righttolife-mc.org .
For further information please call DeFiore Funeral Home at 847-515-8772.
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What a very special, loving and wonderful woman!! She was like a Mother to me and my family. We all will miss her so much! My thoughts and prayers are with the entire family. Mama P was a gift to all and is now our Angel watching over all of you!
To my Uncle Tony Pollastrini and my dear cousins. I want to express my deepest sympathy for the sudden loss of your wife and mother. My Aunt Anna was a kind and a loving aunt to me. I felt a sense of love as her nephew for me and my sibling. She has emailed me through school and always discussed how proud she was of me that I chose to be a nurse as my profession. I will miss her deeply and loved her very much. Danny Boffa
We are so sorry to hear about the passing of your loving mom, Ron. We are keeping you and the rest of your family, and especially your dad, in our prayers.
My sympathies to all of you. She was a wonderful women who raised an amazing bunch of kids.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. She was a beautiful lady who loved her family greatly. I have fond memories of your mom and she will be missed greatly.
I am thankful that I got to share some of my life with my loving and caring sister. I hope Tony and all her children can find comfort knowing Anna is now in a peaceful place. Now is the time for us to celebrate the good life she led and all the wonderful things she accomplished. Goodbye my dear sister.
I am sending condolences on behalf of my family and Maria Gatziolis. Mrs Pollastrini was very kind and I was always inspired by her faith. I wish we could be there in person to offer our love and support but please know you are all in our prayers and feel blessed to have known her.
She sounds like a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
My heart felt sympathy to my Uncle Tony and my Pollastrini cousins for the loss of my dear Aunt Anna. I appreciate all of those late but very informative Christmas letters, the home made personalized ornaments for my 2 boys , her inspiring emails, and some of the fun gatherings at the Pollastrini house early on. All of those things took time, effort and most of all love. She will be missed.
My Prayers and sincere sympathy for your Family at the loss of Tomasina...May the Mantle of Our Lady Comfort you during these times of sorrow for you...family and friends...????????✨????✨✝️✨????✨????????...
Our hearts are heavy for the entire Pollastrini family. Mama P leaves behind the legacy of a family that mirrors her kindness caring and giving of herself. While she will be missed her spirit and selflessness will be carried on through her children grandchildren great grandchildren and all the lives she touched.
I only had the pleasure of knowing Tomasina for a short time, but in that short period I realized what a caring and special person she was. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
Although I only met Tina in the past few months, when I had the privilege to bring Communion and to pray with her and her husband Tony. My heart is heavy for Tony and family. She was a lovely faith-filled woman with a loving spirit. I surround you with prayers for comfort and healing. filled
Mrs. Poll will always be my second Mother, and truly like no other...everyone who had the honor to meet her knows that she was an Angel placed on earth for all of our spiritual guidance. You see her love in everyone of her kids/grandkids, and husband Mr. Poll. Our hearts are broken for the entire Pollastrini family. Please know that she was truly loved by so many, and we wish that we can hug her one more time. We will never forget her miracle work with Father Dennis Kelleher and our miracle :) We will miss you dearly Mama Poll, please keep looking and praying over all of us, your love will always be in our hearts. Hug my Dad for me :) Love Frank and family.
May the good and all loving God grant her eternal rest in His Kingdom. Rest in Peace.
May your heart's be at rest with your dear sweet Wife/ Mother and grandmother. Tomasina was my closest friend, she was as she always said "my adopted mother". She taught me how to make rosaries and much more about life, love and what true friendship is all about. She is now resting without the pain she endured with no complaints. Our Lord promised us his eternal peace, may this bring your hearts comfort in this time of great loss. Mama T you are loved and missed.....
Dear Ron, My thoughts and prayers are with you, your Father and your entire family at this most difficult time. I will keep you all in my prayers. What an extra special person your Mother was. So very sorry for your loss.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Pollastrini family.
Sending love and prayers to the Pollastrini family during this difficult time.
Known to me always as Mrs. Pollastrini, however to be more accurate, "Mrs. Pollastrini" was like having a second Mom look after myself and all of my siblings who resided on Westwood Trail in Addison. Always warm and expressing love whenever we were over for a Christmas celebration, sleepover or just hanging in the backyard during the dog days of summer, she welcomed you as one of her own. The mother of eight very talented and bright kids, she always made room for another when you walked in the door! She had a saying that she shared with us neighborhood kids when we would have a conflict among us and goes like this . . . "Kevin / Ken, remember you do not dislike the person, you dislike their behavior." I speak for all the Cady kids . . . Mrs. Pollastrini, we will love and miss you always.
Like many Mrs. Poll was a second Mom to myself and other Cady’s not only for her Love and caring she gave us but also life’s lesson’s. One warm Summer day, Mike,Ron, my brother Kevin, myself and Mrs. Poll went to visit a mentally challenged adult together. Us kids learned something that day from that visit. We complained the whole way there. After we left we felt pretty good about ourselves. “Life lesson learned”
Tomasina was always so loving to my husband. She was always sending him emails and talking to him about the Jewish Roots of Christianity. Bill just loved her kindness. I remember making rosaries with her and teaching the children about the rosary. I will miss her very much. My thoughts and prayers are with Tony and her entire family. "Well done good and faithful servant, now enter your Father's house."
Dear Tony, You have our deepest sympathy. Tommy was a friend and co-worker. Working at both Marianjoy and the Convent together we enjoyed many interesting times. God bless you and your family.
Our thoughts of Tomasina as well as our prayers are with all of you. Tomasina was a good friend of my parents as well as our family. We had great discussions of our Catholic faith. She was such a wealth of knowledge and had such fire burning within her. We enjoyed a great number of books together in which I will treasure the ones she had given to me from her library. What a fantastic and gracious woman she had always been to us. We too loved her bakery items. I'll remember her always and will miss her greatly, but I know we now have a great saint praying and interceding for all of us. Che Dio ti accolga tra le sue braccia, Tomasina!
Our condolences to you, Tony and your entire family. Tomasina was a comfort to me when we lost our two adult children. She made sure I was Involved in making Rosaries. She loved playing cards and I enjoyed that tremendously. What a tower of strength!
Prayers for you Uncle Tony and all my Pollastrini cousins and their families. Rest In Peace Auntie Tommi.
Uncle Tony and my Cousins....your spouses, children, and grandchildren .... It is with a very heavy heart that I too share my sorrow with all of you. I, like everyone else that knew and loved Auntie Tommi, have continued to fondly reflect on my numerous and cherished memories of my time spent with this truly wonderful and insirational woman. She would always greet you with a hug and kiss.. and sincerely ask you how you were doing. I have enjoyed reading all the comments left by so many of her friends and family. It should not surprise any of us, that all the beautiful words we have each chosen to use to describe her.... perfectly mirror the exact same decription of whom we all knew her to be with us individually. That truly warmed my heart! We are all truly blessed to have known and loved her....and for me, all the years of my life. Thank you for sharing her with all of us. She will never be forgotten and will forever be remembered as the beautiful woman that she was inside and out. God bless Auntie Tommi... and may God help to comfort all our mourning hearts today and for so many tomorrows.
Please accept our sincere condolences. We want to express our sympathy and communicate that our thoughts/prayers are with the entire Pollastrini Family. Your Mom and entire Family are surrounded by love/faith during this difficult time.
Everything that has been said I couldn’t agree with more – “Mrs. Pollastrini” was an island of “Momness” when away from home, just a walk over the football field during 5th period lunch from Addison Trail. But she was also a profound influence on her community - by simply living her faith and love for others in every small loving action and caring word, she created a continent of good works. I can attest to those good works from the time I first met her 40 years ago, and was greeted with an overwhelming welcoming sense of instant acceptance. Of course, through the careful raising of her children to walk the same faith, I’ve only benefited from her children (Ron) reaching out to help me at my toughest times. She helped my family, by exploring her community connections, to create bridges which successfully lead to employment opportunities (all before LinkedIn!). These seem to be great things by themselves, but we all know these are only a drop in the ocean of what she has done. What a wonderful person!
May this wonderful, Godly woman rest in Our Lord’s arms. I got to know Tomasina from the Rosary Ministry. She sparked my interest in making rosaries. She gave me a prayer book and a statue of the Divine Mercy. Tomasina, we never had our coffee together but I hope to see you when my life is done. Condolences to her family. We were blessed to have known her. May God comfort you during this time of sadness!
We are deeply sorry for your loss. Please accept our condolences at this difficult time, and Peace be with all of your family .
God be with you Jan and Larry and the entire Polllastrini family!! We are so very sorry for the additional suffering during your Mother’s passing! We love you all! Prayers will continue!
Wonderful lady, so kind and loving. I just know our heavenly father has welcomed you with open arms.
My heart goes out to the entire Pollastrini family - great loss - sending my sympathy and prayers to all of you.
My deep sympathies to Tony and the whole Pollastrini family. God bless you all.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time on the loss of your Mother. May you always find comfort in the wonderful memories of many good times shared - including yes a Cubs World Series Win - and an amazing life lived. Love, The Beggin Family
Tommy was like an aunt to me. She was so loving, caring and thoughtful to me. I will miss her. Uncle Tony, I know she is with my dad, watching over us all. I wish I could be there to give you and your beautiful family a huge hug.
Sending our heartily sympathies to Tony and all my nephews and niece. We are thankful she is at peace now and can see again. I will never forget her taking care of me as if I was her child. She taught me all the nursery rhymes and I would ask her repeatedly to tell me about the Little old Lady in the Shoe and she would always do it with a smile on her face. Her cream puffs were the best! Anna will always be in our hearts and we will miss her. Love Michelin and Brad
My heartfelt condolences to my Uncle Tony, And to all my cousins. I love you all
My deepest condolences to Tony and all the family
with heavy heart we send condolences for the passing of our dear friend Tommie. Anna and Tommie were friends dating back to their teen years. She will be sorely missed. Our prayer group will not be the same without her. May she rest in peace.
My sincere condolences to everyone affected by the loss of Nana Tomi. I have very fond childhood memories of her and papa and how I was so welcomed into your loving family. What a large and powerful legacy she leaves behind! My God Bless you all during this difficult time. I know she will be watching closely from Heaven. She is and will be truly missed!
My thoughts and prayers are with the whole Pollastrini family.
I am very sorry for you and your family's loss.... You are in my thoughts and prayers during this very sad time.
Sorry for the loss of such a lovely person. We know how much an Italian Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother is the glue in a big Italian family.
Tomasina was the most loving & caring mother of 8 wonderful children& she also was my dear sister-in-law who I loved dearly.I am sure God had a special place waiting for her. Memories Are forever,but she will missed by all.Our condolences also to Tony my brother who we love Also.Our thoughts & prayers are with you all.
To my Uncle Tony and all my cousins; We are saddened by the loss of “Auntie Tommi.”
We express our deepest sympathies to Uncle Tony and the entire Pollastrini Family. Aunt Tommi, was a wonderful and beautiful person. We will always remember the commitment to her faith and family. She was not only a great mother to our cousins but a wonderful Aunt to us. God bless her and the entire Pollastrini family. Love xoxoxo to all Karen, Donna, Ron
My heart bleeds. NOT!