Obituary of Adriana Norma Grasso

Adriana Norma Grasso passed away the evening of Wednesday, August 29 with family at her side. Norma was born October 26, 1911 to Nicolas and Spiridoula Livaditis in the small Greek village of Koutos, near Patras and the Corinthian Canal. In 1917 the Livaditis family followed the myriads of emigrant Greeks who landed at Ellis Island to make a new life in America. The family of five boys and one daughter settled in Manhattan on Pearl Street. Norma thrived in her adopted country, where she graduated from high school, learned to play piano and guitar, swam competitively, and worked as a secretary to a stockbroker until the Wall Street crash of 1929. One day Norma answered a knock at the family's front door and greeted a skinny, dark-haired man who came to visit one of her brothers. Anthony Grasso had previously worked with the brother in Hollywood and followed up on the invitation to "drop by when in town." For the rest of his life Anthony stated that he was instantly in love with Norma and totally forgot about the brother. Norma and Anthony, "Tony," were married in 1934, and four years after starting their home in Manhattan, their first child Allen born in June. Four months later, Norma almost put her swimming prowess to use in the Hudson River one October 30 evening. After tuning in mid-broadcast to Orson Welle's radio drama "The War Of The Worlds," Norma grabbed her blanket draped infant prepared to swim with the baby to escape the killer gases. As the couple entered the street from their upstairs apartment, there were no terrified people fleeing. Instead they saw people calmly sitting in a local bar, where Tony learned from its radio that it was just a broadcasted play. The lure of returning to sunny California drove Tony to convince Norma to move west. They landed in San Francisco in the early 1940's and started a flooring business. While Tony expanded their business, Norma expanded the family with the birth of their daughter Linda. The family progressively moved down the peninsula from San Francisco to Brisbane, then to Millbrae. Besides keeping the books for the business, Norma devoted herself to raising the family. She also actively worked for Adlai Stevenson's 1952 Presidential bid. With the purchase of a small weekend cabin in Aptos in the early 1960's, Norma and Tony began enjoying weekends and long stays in the county. After retirement, they moved to Soquel permanently to be near their grandchildren. Norma also enjoyed afternoons at the beach, visiting friends, and playing tunes on her guitar accompanied by Tony on his accordion. Norma was actively interested in her family until her last days. Norma was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Taikis, James, George, William, and Thomas. Norma is survived by children Allen (Ellen) Grasso, Linda Grasso; grandchildren Antony (Margaret) Grasso, Mary (Russ) Tanner, and George Grasso; great-grandchildren Ethan Tanner and Benjamin Tanner. Graveside services by Father Dionysios Vierling of Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church held at Soquel Cemetery, 11 am, September 5, 2012.