Emily DiRenza | Comptroller, 84

Emily C. Ragnelli DiRenza, 84, formerly of Chester County, a retired comptroller, died of Alzheimer's disease April 4 at Zerbe Sisters Nursing Center in Narvon, Pa.

Mrs. DiRenza retired as comptroller at Chester County Psychiatric Group in Phoenixville in 1989. Previously, she had been comptroller at Temple University Medical School for 15 years and was a comptroller at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York and at the former Women's Hospital in Philadelphia.

Mrs. DiRenza grew up in South Philadelphia, where her father had a meat and poultry market. She graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama. After earning a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, she worked for the Federal Reserve Bank.

Mrs. DiRenza served on the board of Valley Forge National Historical Park and was a member of Americans for Democratic Action. She was an avid bridge player.

Her husband, Anthony J. DiRenza, died in 1995. She is survived by a sister, Irma Leshinski, and a niece and a nephew.

A Memorial Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today at St. Benedict Church, 2020 Chestnut Hill Rd., Mohnton, Pa. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.