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A couple who are parishioners of St. Mary’s in Washingtonville have been designated as the longest-married couple in the Archdiocese of New York. They are Giacomino and Rosina Lenti, married 79 years.
Their 80th wedding anniversary will be on Dec. 18. He’s 99 years old; she’ll turn 99 next month. They were born in Italy, before immigrating to New York on Valentine’s Day in 1970, settling in Brooklyn, later Dobbs Ferry then Yonkers. They have resided in Campbell Hall, adjacent to Washingtonville, since 1984. He worked as a grocery store employee and landscaper; she was a homemaker and often did custodial work.
The annual Longest Married Couple Contest is sponsored by the archdiocesan Family Life Office. Held in conjunction with World Marriage Day Feb. 14, the longest-married couple is determined by how long a couple is married as of Feb. 14, 2021. The 29 couples living in the archdiocese and married sacramentally for 65 years or more who entered the contest are listed below.
Mr. and Mrs. Lenti speak only Italian. Their granddaughter Laura Tomoser, 48, served as family spokesperson in a phone interview last week with Catholic New York.
“It was great love, believing in one another and always being there for each other—never giving up,” Mrs. Tomoser said in discussing the longevity of her maternal grandparents’ marriage. “They renewed their vows four years ago on their 75th wedding anniversary.”
Mrs. Tomoser, in an emotional moment, added, “And having a beautiful family, it just makes me cry with happiness, because it’s just an amazing thing for them to still be here at 99 years old, and to have celebrated 79 years of being married.”
Through good seasons and difficult times, she said her grandparents have always relied on their Catholic faith. “It wasn’t always easy,” she said, noting that her grandfather usually worked two jobs to make ends meet.
“It’s a very big part of our life,” she said of the extended family trusting in the Lord.
Mrs. Tomoser said her grandfather served in the Italian army, noting, “My grandfather was in World War II; he fought against the Germans. He was in France.”
Mr. and Mrs. Lenti were married on Dec. 18, 1941 in the town of Fiumefreddo Bruzio, in the Calabria region of southern Italy, in Chiesa Dell’Immacolata Sambiase (church). They were both born and raised in the Calabria region, and they owned a small farm there before coming to New York.
The Lentis both enjoy gardening on their Campbell Hall property, using their talents from their farming days in Italy; and they like making wine, an extended family tradition. And Mrs. Lenti enjoys cooking. As for family gatherings, “being 100% Italian, we also had our annual traditions of making homemade sauce every September and homemade salami and wine in early January.”
Giacomino and Rosina Lenti have five children (a sixth died at age 2), 15 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. (The most recent, Mrs. Tomoser’s second grandchild, a boy, was born Jan. 30.)
“They’re both healthy; it’s just wonderful,” Mrs. Tomoser said of her grandparents. “I think it’s that glass of wine that they have every day, the homemade wine that they make...They have their own house and they live by themselves. It’s awesome; they’re amazing.”
In a joint statement to CNY through Mrs. Tomoser, Mr. and Mrs. Lenti said, “It was love. We met when we were 17, got married at 19, stuck by each other through thick and thin and never gave up. The Catholic faith played a big part in our relationship. We always communicated and made things work.”
Mrs. Lenti also had a message for CNY readers. “My grandmother said, ‘I would like to thank everybody who reads our article,’” noted Mrs. Tomoser, adding, “She’s so cute.”
The longest-married couples in the Archdiocese
Rosina & Giacomino Lenti
79 years, St. Mary's Church, Washingtonville
Ann & Edwin Smith
78 years, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Staten Island
Lydia & Manuel Feliciano
75 years, St. Frances of Rome, St. Francis of Assisi,
St. Anthony & Our Lady of Grace, Bronx
Myrtle & Angelo Eugene Prisco
74 years, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Pelham Manor
Margaret & John Yurus
73 years, St. Mary, Mother of the Church, Fishkill
Theresa & Joseph Siclare
72 years, St. John Bosco, Port Chester
Catherine & Vincent Tambone
72 years, St. Columba, Hopewell Junction
Mary & Joseph Signorile
72 years, St. Patrick's, Staten Island
Giovanna & Paul LoBello
71 years, St. Frances de Chantal, Bronx
Diana & Frank Besignano
71 years, St. Ann, Staten Island
Barbara & Joseph Gusmano
70 years, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarsdale
H. Janet & John A. Morrison
70 years, Transfiguration, Tarrytown
Marie & Dominick Muggeo
70 years, St. Paul and St. Ann, Congers
Mary & Roger Lacoste
70 years, St. Mary, Mother of the Church , Fishkill
Kathryn & Frank Biasini
70 years, St. Mary's Church, Marlboro
Lois & Robert Reape
70 years, St. Paul the Apostle, Yonkers
Teresa & Patsy Bianchini
70 years, St. Lawrence O'Toole, Brewster
Helen & William Robertson
70 years, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak
Rachel & Richard DiBari
69 years, Our Lady of Pity, Staten Island
Mary & Vincent Saracco
69 years, St. Augustine Church, New City
Ann & John Mando
67 years, St. Martin de Porres, Poughkeepsie
Ines & Ponciano Ramos
67 years, Sacred Heart, Hartsdale
Marjorie & Frank Misasi
66 years, St. Catherine Laboure - St. Coleman, Lake Katrine
Dolores & Leon Piasecki
66 years, St. John the Evangelist, Goshen
Maria & Michelino Maffucci
66 years, St. Gabriel St. Joseph, New Rochelle
Ruth & James Aurigemma
65 years, St. Mary's Church, Marlboro
Irene & Milan Kostrna
65 years, St. Mary, Mother of the Church , Fishkill
Margaret & Anthony Ramos
65 years, St. Gregory Barbarigo, Garnerville
Mary & Deacon Karl Pietkiewicz
65 years, St. Mary of the Snow, Saugerties
