Terri DiGiovanni Obituary

Terri (Gillis) DiGiovanni, age 81 of Centerville and Cotuit, formerly of Mansfield, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving and adoring family on Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at the Village at Willow Crossings in Mansfield. She was the beloved wife of the late Celestino A. "Tino" DiGiovanni, to whom she was wed for sixty years at the time of his death on January 7, 2022.

Born in Cambridge, MA, on January 19, 1943, she was a loving daughter of the late James J. and Grace F. (Powers) Gillis.

Terri grew up in the town of Middleboro and was a graduate of Middleboro High School. Prior to retiring, she had worked for many years in the hotel industry, starting as a waitress and working her way up the company ladder to the position of director of sales. She had made her home on Cape Cod for the past thirty-five years and was a former well-known longtime resident of Mansfield, where she coached Pop Warner and High School Cheerleading.

In her retirement years, she volunteered her time at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Osterville and once a month served homemade meals to local homeless shelters. Along with her late husband Tino, Mr. and Mrs. DiGiovanni housed over fifty players from the Hyannis Harbor Hawks and loved cooking them homemade meals and always made them feel like part of the family. Terri also used her business experience and personality to encourage local restaurants to feed the team after every game, a tradition that still continues to this day.

Terri felt blessed to have created many memories and adventures with her children and grandchildren throughout the years. She will always be fondly remembered for her love of shopping, her outgoing personality and her remarkable cooking skills.

She is survived by her loving and devoted daughters, Marcy Small and her husband David of Hyannis, Lisa Hallgren of Norton, Gina DiGiovanni and her wife Brenda of Mansfield and Maria Denekamp and her husband Mark of Norton. She was the cherished grandmother of Ryan Small, Tyler Small, Joseph Hallgren, Anthony Hallgren, Alison Denekamp and Jacob Hallgren. She was the dear sister of Patricia Willis, Rose Teixeira, Kathleen Genson, Richard Gillis, Robert Gillis, Charles Gillis and the late Grace Costa, James Gillis, John Gillis, Michael Gillis and William Gillis. She is also survived by many-many loving nieces and nephews and her loving dog "Bella".

Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend visiting hours on Sunday, January 5th from 4:00-7:00 P.M. at the Sherman & Jackson Funeral Home, 55 North Main Street, Mansfield.

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, January 6th at 11:00 A.M. in Saint Mary's Church, 330 Pratt Street (Route 106) Mansfield. Burial will follow at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Mansfield.

Those attending the services are encouraged to dress in Terri's favorite color of red and in lieu of flowers, donations in Terri's memory may be made to a local hospice organization.

To send her family a message of condolence, please visit www.shermanjackson.com