Diana's grandmother, née Filomena De Maria, was one of six siblings. The eldest, Michela De Maria (1859 - 1940) married Giuseppe Leccese and was the only one of the six to come to the US settling in New York circa 1900.
Of her six children, only the youngest, Maria (born 1901) was born in the US. The others were born in Vieste.
Maria married Thomas Minecci and they had only one child, Vincent. Vincent Minecci was born in NYC a year and a half before Diana and they met only once in the NY home of the Minecci family in the summer of 1936 when Diana and Ma made their truncated trip to San Severro and Berlin.
Only in 2001, as she was compiling the Pezzi-Frascolla genealogy, was Diana put back in touch with her second cousin, Vincent Minecci, by Al Menotti. Diana said that their telephonic reunion got off to an unsure start when she began by telling him, “You and I have never met but ...” He interrupted saying “Yes we have, in 1936 at our home when your mother and you ...”
After that they exchanged a few letters where he told of his six children, 12 grandchildren and (as of that time) great-granddaughter. As of this writing (July 2017) there are nine great-grandchildren (the youngest was born in May of 2016).
Vincent died in December of 2012 but, for the past decade and a half, Diana and i have kept in touch, mostly by e-mail, with the second youngest daughter, Lisa and her family.
The Minecci Family (3rd cousins of Diana and Tav) — 5 February 2017 at La Messeria in NYC. (left-to-right) Ryan, Colleen, Lisa and Joe (celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary), Danielle and Mark.