Obituary of Adriana Grosso Agnihotri

Adriana Grosso Agnihotri, wife of her husband Ajit for 40 years, devoted mother to her children Jonluca and Orissa, and accomplished legal professional, passed away on Wednesday at her home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with family. She was 72 years old. After a long and decorated career in the law offices of Fontanella & Benevento and the legal department of Stryker Orthopedics, where she represented the company in hundreds of mediations and trials, in retirement Adriana served as the Treasurer of the St. James Italian Society, of which she was a supporter. She was a consummate gourmand, oenophile, and an exquisite chef, who enjoyed hosting her large, close-knit family. Adriana also loved the sand and crashing surf of the Jersey shore, where she summered in Ortley beach for decades, and which reminded her of her original hometown of Sant’Angelo di Cetraro, a Calabrian hamlet where she painstakingly restored the 14th-century home in which she and her brothers and sister were born. Adriana was born in Sant’Angelo June 2, 1950 to Angelo and Evelina Grosso, nee Salamone. She emigrated to the United States in 1962 as a twelve year old, and thereafter graduated from Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, NJ and Seton Hall University. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Vincent Ajit Agnihotri of Franklin Lakes; her mother, Evelina Grosso, for whom she was a caregiver for over 10 years, of Totowa, NJ; her son, Jonluca and wife Caitlin of Jersey City, NJ, whose beautiful wedding was just celebrated by 150 family members near and far at the Ashford Estate in Allentown NJ; her daughter, Orissa Agnihotri and husband Benjamin Levites of Westport, CT; her beloved sister, Adelaide Fiorarancio, and husband Giovanni of Totowa, NJ; her elder brother, Michael and wife Alexis of Woodland Park, NJ; her younger brother, Emil and wife Katherine, of Wyckoff, NJ; goddaughter Rosanna Fahy and husband Steven of Cedar Grove, NJ and their daughters Gemma, Michela, and Simona. She was a doting Zia to her many nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces, including Gina, Kristina, Alicia, Sandy, and Emily Grosso and daughter Diana; Giancarlo Fiorarancio and wife Beth and their children Rafaela and Carina; Michelangelo Grosso and wife Stephanie; and Janine Mendoza, husband Gallo, and their children Luciano and Athena. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the St. James Italian Society. A funeral mass will be held at a future date at St. James of the Marches, Totowa, NJ. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral service at the Festa Memorial Funeral Home, 111 Union Blvd., Totowa on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 11:00 AM. Committal service to follow at Cedar Lawn Crematory, Paterson. Friends may visit on Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.Please join the family for a Memorial Mass on June 2, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at St. James of the Marches, Totowa, NJ.