Obituary of Maria L. Gagliardi

Maria L. Gagliardi passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at TenBroeck Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. She was 89 years old. The daughter of the late Ulderico and Beatrice Ferrari Barbiero, Maria was born in Milan, Italy on January 18, 1934. The family lived in an apartment just steps from the Duomo, one of Italy’s grand cathedrals. She often told the story that as a child she played with her siblings on the rooftop of the famed church. As a young girl, she was trained as a seamstress by her mother, who ran an atelier out of the family home in Milan. She married her husband Gigino Gagliardi in Milan in 1958. The two began their own atelier for professional men and women in the city. Maria immigrated to the U.S with her husband and children on August 27, 1973. Like countless immigrants before them, the couple came to the U.S. in search of a better life. At the urging of relatives who settled in Kingston from the early 20th century and onward, the family came to the area. She started a fashion and design business, creating one of a kind formalwear for a female clientele in Ulster County. She continued working as an entrepreneur, while raising her family, for four decades. She retired in early 2000. In addition to her love of fashion, Maria also was an avid gardener and passionate about holistic medicine. She tended to her flowers, but her true love was for biodynamic gardening. She produced a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that she preserved so her family and friends could enjoy all year long. Maria is survived by her daughter Paola Gagliardi DaSilva (Kingston) and son Giovanni and his wife Alicia (Port Ritchie, Florida); her brother Giangugliemo (Italy); and grandchildren Alessandra G. DaSilva (Kingston), Stefano G. DaSilva (Kingston) and Gino S. Gagliardi (Kingston). In addition to her parents, Maria was predeceased by her husband, Luigi Gigino Gagliardi and brother Franco. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Morning Star Christian Fellowship. Visitation will be held at the Henry J. Bruck Funeral Home, 261 Broadway, Kingston, NY on Friday, March 17, 2023 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. A prayer service will be held from 4:00 to 5:00 during this visitation period.