Obituary of Vilma Marie Frances Patrucco

Vilma Marie Patrucco, 86, formerly of New York, Johnston and Providence, Rhode Island, died on January 23, 2022 at St Elizabeth’s Home in East Greenwich.

Born January 28, 1936 in Binghampton New York, she was the daughter of the late Pietro and Christina (Sassone) Patrucco and the beloved sister of the late Dr. Armand I Patrucco.

Vilma graduated from Cathedral High School, New York in 1953 and received a BA in English from Queens College, New York in 1957. She continued her studies at Columbia University, completing her master’s thesis on The Voyage Psalms of Yeats and Baudelaire. in 1958. An avid reader, Vilma continued her education when she moved to Rhode Island, earning a master’s degree in library science from the University of Rhode Island in 1970.

She was passionate not only about the English language but was also fluent in Italian and French. She loved to travel and her many adventures took her on many trips, but her favorite place to visit was Italy to visit the many relatives her immigrant parents had left behind.

Her love of the English language and reading has resulted in many career opportunities in publishing, teaching and library. Vilma has been employed as an editorial assistant in the foreign news section of the New York Herald Tribune, associate editor at Columbia University Press where she edited Granger’s Index to Poetry, and humanities editor for Choice, the reading journal of the American Library Associations, Division of Collegiate and Research Libraries.

Vilma has shared her passion for English and reading over the years with many high school and university students. She taught English and social studies at Windsor High School in Winsor, New York, Roosevelt High School in Stamford Connecticut, and Foxhollow High School in Lenox, Massachusetts. His college teaching experiences included teaching English composition and world literature at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg Massachusetts, Broome Technical Community College in Binghamton, New York, Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island and New England Institute of Technology, Providence, Rhode Island. Vilma also worked as an assistant librarian at the Rhode Island Medical Society Library, in Providence Rhode Island for a few years.

With a book or the New York Times always in hand, Vilma loved discussing the news and writing articles for her friends on topics that interested them. She was deeply devoted to her family, especially her late brother, Dr. Armand I Patrucco, whom she considered her best friend. Armand was a widely admired history professor at Rhode Island College who was born with cerebral palsy and had mobility issues. A selfless and devoted sister, Vilma, moved to Rhode Island to live with and help her brother. They lived together at the Regency Apartments in Providence for many years.

Her family would like to give special thanks to the staff at St Elizabeth’s Home the Bay unit in East Greenwich and Hope Hospice for the extraordinary love and care they gave Vilma. They have truly become like a second family to her. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Funeral service will be held on Monday, June 27, 2022 in the historic Swan Point Cemetery Chapel, Blackstone Blvd. Providence at 11 a.m. Burial will follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his memory to Hope Hospice and Palliative Care Rhode Island, 1085 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904. www.monahandrabblesherman.com