Longtime Amherst Resident Dies at Age 102

Emma (Comperchio) Goduti, 102, died on August 16, 2013 at Mt. Carmel Nursing Home, Manchester, NH. She was born in Boston, MA on July 22, 1911 to Alphonsina Palmisano and Giuseppe Comperchio. She grew up with her 11 brothers and sisters in Boston's (Italian) North End.

As a young woman Emma worked in the Schrafft's Candy Factory in Somerville, MA. In her free time she enjoyed ballroom dancing with her siblings and contemporaries while having what she called, “good, clean fun”. There she met Arthur Joseph Goduti. They were married on April 19, 1945 at St. Leonard's Church on Prince Street. Arthur died in December 2001.

In 1951, they moved to Amherst, NH, where they raised their two sons, Donald and Richard. Emma and Arthur were communicants of St. Patrick Parish in Milford where she was an active member of the Catholic Women's Club. Over the years Emma and Arthur made hundreds of meatballs for church spaghetti dinners. Later in life she worked as a supervisor at McLeod's Orchard packing house in Wilton, NH.

Emma is survived by two sisters, Yolanda DeSimone (96) of Needham, MA and Louise Goodman (85) of Fort Lauderdale, FL; her two sons, Donald and Paula of Londonderry, NH, Richard and Judy of Dunbarton, NH; 9 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews. There are no calling hours.

A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Friday, August 23rd at 10:00 am in St. Patrick Church, 34 Amherst Street, Milford. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Milford. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to New Hampshire Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 686, Manchester, NH 03105-0686 or Brookhaven Hospice, 100 Lafayette Road, Hampton Falls, NH 03844.