Julia G Reid's Obituary
Julia Petrozza Smith Reid
“Julie” Age 99 Hialeah, Florida
Julia, our beloved mother, passed away peacefully at the age of 99 on July 26, 2024. She was surrounded by family and her loving caregivers at the Las Palmas Senior Living. Julia lived her long life to the fullest wit generosity, positivity, and a genuine curiosity in the lives of others. She had a great sense of humor and maintained her wit and exuberance her whole life.
She was born in Hartford, CT in 1924 to parents Vito and Grazia Petrozza, who had recently immigrated from Montescaglioso, Basilicata, Italy. As a child and teenager, she was an avid reader and a dedicated student. She graduated from Hartford High School at the age of 16, skipping 2 years due to her academic performance. After high school, she worked as a telephone operator with her sister Millie.
In the late 1940s she moved to Miami, Florida and worked at the Miami International Airport. There, she met her future husband, Earl “Smitty” Smith, a Pan Am employee. They settled in a newly built community, Hialeah, where they raised their four children: Steven, Barbara, Robin and Beverly. Over the years, Julie was a homemaker and also worked at Southern Bell, the Hialeah Bank and First Baptist School. After Smitty’s death she moved to Belleview, Florida with her second husband, Herbert “Corkey Reid”. There she enjoyed socializing with friends and was a pretty good bowler in the senior league. She also volunteered at the VFW, her church and at Belleview Elementary reading to the students.
Cherishing her Italian heritage, she wowed family, friends and neighbors with her excellent fare including her famous tomato sauce, lasagna, and sweet fried dough. She even had her own version of rum-soaked fruitcake- really good! Holidays were a treat in her home.
Julia also loved to dance and appreciated all kinds of music, especially Sinatra and Dean Martin. But one of her greatest pastimes was watching football - especially the Miami Dolphins. She was an avid fan since the 1970s and could often be heard on Sunday afternoons cheering them on loudly.
Intelligence, humor and compassion defined her life. She was an expert at Scrabble and did Crossword puzzles every day with her morning coffee. When asked recently how she was doing, she usually said, “pretty good for an old lady.”
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