Rena is the strong, smart and devoted woman behind the man. This little Italian spitfire stole his heart and changed his life. Rena and Jim were married in 1947 and 64 years later they are still going strong.
Rena, Pierena Zitella, was born in Corfinio, Abruzzo, Italy and arrived in the United States at five years old, holding her mother’s, Anna Consalvo Zitella, hand as they passed through Ellis Island. They joined her father, Alexander Zitella, in McKeesport, Pa. to begin life as an American family. They believed hard work and education were the keys to success. Rena succeeded. While she worked for Westinghouse, with Admiral Rickover on the development of the Nautilus submarine, and Penn State, keeping the McKeesport Campus running smoothly, her job as wife and mother was her top priority and her biggest accomplishment. Rena raised four children who value hard work and education as much as she does and are equally devoted to family. It is no wonder that Jim affectionately refers to her as his “Golden Goose.”
Is it fate that Jim found and married an Italian beauty after his experiences in Italy during the war?
Before heading south to the beaches of Salerno and Anzio, I plan to visit Corfinio and explore a bit of the Zitella and Consalvo family histories 
