Angie Weidman knew responsibility at a young age, raised her three brothers
By SEAN DEVLIN
The Sun
On Aug. 8, Villa Rosa Restaurant and Pizzeria in Burlington Township looked just as it always does with cars pulling in and out of the driveway during open hours. However, inside a special event took place. Surrounded by walls decorated to evoke rural Italy, a celebration was had: Angie Weidman’s 103rd birthday.
Family and friends gathered at Villa Rosa to celebrate and spend time with Weidman, who was sporting a sparkling tiara and pink necklaces.
Born in 1915 in Bristol, Pa., Weidman lived a life filled with responsibility. In her younger years, her family moved from Pennsylvania to Trenton and eventually to Burlington.
Her father passed in 1927.
“My father came down with pneumonia, an epidemic at the time,” she said.
Weidman and her three younger brothers were cared for by their mother until she passed in 1938.
Weidman became a parent to her siblings: Ralph, Ollie and Auggie.
“She was the mother from ’38 on out,” her sister-in-law Mary Stefanoni, said. Stefanoni was married to Auggie who has since passed, as have Ralph and Ollie.
Weidman recalled making the trek along Route 25 to a nearby dairy for milk and readying chickens to be cooked.
Laughing and with her hands mimicking her chores of old, she said, “There was nobody that was going to do it. So, I got nerve enough to do it.”
Mentioning a lack of money, she said she and her brothers used every bit of the chickens they could.
However, recalling more from the past, her eyes found the ceiling and she said, “And then the war broke out Dec. 7. I’ll remember that.”
Her brothers all served in the military, taking posts in Nebraska, Iceland, India and other areas of the world, she said.
While she never had children of her own, she married a man named Eddie who was a widower at the time and she helped raise his son, Paul.
Friends and members of Weidman’s family mentioned her memory, work ethic and demand for honesty as some of her best attributes.
Les Pitton, a relative of the family who drove from Washington, D.C., to see Weidman on her birthday, recalled several stories, including one about an invoice concerning property taxes she received several years ago.
“She got in her car and drove down to city hall,” he said. He added, “She said, ‘Young man, I have lived in this town all my life, and I know my house is not worth this, and I am not paying this.’ They reduced her taxes,” he said with a laugh.
Rosemary Tashjian, a friend of the family, said, “She is the most kind, sweet and loving person.”
Weidman has lived on Lincoln Avenue in Burlington for the majority of her life.
