Susan K. Sassano, 99, a heart of gold and an eye for stocks

Susan K. Sassano had a fifth grade education when she left school, working from spring to fall picking peppers, tomatoes, or blueberries with her family on farms throughout South Jersey.

Much later in life, as a cafeteria worker -- she was known as the "salad lady" at the S.S. White dental-products factory at 12th and Chestnut Streets in Center City -- Mrs. Sassano took an interest in the stock market. She loved buying stocks so much that for her 80th birthday, her family rented a limousine to visit the New York Stock Exchange, where Mrs. Sassano had her picture taken with her favorite CNBC host, Bob Pisani.

On Friday, March 10, Mrs. Sassano, 99, of Haddon Township, died at home. Janet Sassano said her mother had a big heart that "gave out."

"Her compassion, generosity, knowledge, honesty, guidance, love, and dedication to her family will be fondly remembered," her daughter said. The family called her the "Energizer Bunny who was the center of their family."

In her youth, Mrs. Sassano was a Big Band dancer. She met her husband, Frank, at a dance hall where the two discovered their chemistry as he led her across the floor. The couple also danced on the wood floors in their home, and Mrs. Sassano enjoyed watching Dancing With the Stars. The couple had been married for 71 years when Mr. Sassano died in 2013.

Mrs. Sassano was one of 10 first-generation siblings in the United States. Their parents, Paul and Maria Antonelli, left the Abruzzi area of Italy and raised their children in South Philadelphia. During the farming season, they migrated from April through October. They followed the crops in South Jersey, sleeping on hay mattresses in small shacks, Janet Sassano said.

Her mother, unable to keep up with studies because of the migrant life, left school. But she loved to read dime novels and mysteries, and eventually took a great interest in reading about current events. Janet Sassano said her mother had curiosity about a wide range of topics, inspiring those around her.

Frank and "Suzie" Sassano stayed in South Philadelphia until buying a $12,000 rowhouse in Collingswood in the late 1940s after their children, Janet and Ronald, were born.

On weekends, the family returned to visit the grandparents in South Philly, where a pot of gravy simmered with sausage on Saturday and meatballs on Sunday.

Mrs. Sassano kept that Italian tradition alive with large weekend meals at 2 p.m. She made her own pasta, including ravioli and cavatelli, and "light-as-a-feather pizzelles," her daughter said. Salad was served before dessert, and then coffee, as conversation continued late into the afternoon.

"I used to say that I cooked, but my mother was a cook," Janet Sassano said.

To help pay for her son's college education, Mrs. Sassano worked in the cafeteria at the White Building. The dental company's vice president introduced her to his uncle, who had a seat on the NYSE. Soon, Mrs. Sassano had invested her savings -- $2,000 -- in the stock market, her daughter said. She read everything she could about stocks, watching the market daily on television and picking investments, some better than others.

During a crash, when Mrs. Sassano lost half her savings, she kept investing. "She never gave up on the market. Never," her daughter said, noting that if she spotted a good investment, Mrs. Sassano would call her granddaughter and tell her, "I want you to buy this stock."

"She would give people money or food, and forget about it," Ronald said. "I've never met anyone so generous and unconditional as she was."

One time while Mrs. Sassano was working in Center City, a young au pair from Argentina asked her for directions to her country's consular office, saying she was working for a family that was exploiting her. Mrs. Sassano took the au pair home with her that day, and she and her husband later arranged to fly the woman to California to be with her aunt.

"She was just a wonderful person who would help anyone," Janet Sassano said.

Honoring her mother's wishes, she said, the family is planning a memorial service in the summer instead of a viewing.

Condolences may be sent to Alloway Funeral Home Inc. at Allowayfh.com.