I feel like how did I do it? How did I get to this point, to be happy in this house, in this country, with the people around me, how did I do it? But you see, I had a good man and I knew it. Yes, it was love at first sight. I can see him now like that first time. The sun was at the door, at the back of him, and he had the military hat, the military uniform. The fatigues, they called it. And the smile was like—how can you say? An apparition.
Irma Leone was born in Vicenza, Italy. In this interview she shares what it was like to meet and marry her American husband in Italy and then move to the United States leaving her friends and family to begin a new life in Massachusetts. She raised three daughters and worked at Phalo Wire and Cable Corporation, Fab Tronic Coil Company, and became a quality control inspector at Raytheon. Although at times it was a challenge to learn the language and culture of a new country, she never regretted following her heart because, as she said, “I had a good man and I knew it.”