Monday, February 22, 2016

Mob Wives: Rest in Peace Angela


May she rest in peace

This morning Angela "Big Ang" Raiola was laid to rest. She is gone, but will never be forgotten by those of us who were blessed to know her. Ang left us all with some important life lessons. Live life to the fullest. Put your family first. Treasure your friends. Don't fight, life is short. Forgive others. Don't stay angry or carry a grudge. Eat cake. Protect children. Spread love and laughter wherever you go. That's what Ang would want to leave us as her legacy. In her own unique way Ang helped change the world for the better. Whether you knew her in real life, or just from watching the show, it was clear to everyone that Ang had a heart of gold and everyone loved her. 

Ang took time from her family to go on Dr. Oz, days before her passing, to help others. Her message was: If you smoke, stop; if you haven't started, don't. Please take her words to heart and quit today.





And now a few words from the cast . . .




















Karen at the funeral




Our loss is heaven's gain
RIP Angela


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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Im in awe over the beauty of her pictures. All of this nasty gossip stuff being put out by irrelevant ones and not credible sources, are taking away from the essence of all Ang stood for and the point of what is going on . She died, people are mourning, its very sad and now things are being tarnished and tainted with. Its not right. I think you all have a done LOVELY job here on this site paying respects to Ang and making the tributes. Very classy and beautiful . All the pictures that have been put up so far are very fitting and capture her .

Anonymous said...

What a cool memorial.

Karen was at the funeral. She's pictured with Renee and Jen as the casket goes by.

RIP Ang.

Tedesca said...

Thank you for the beautyful pictures.
I did not know BigAng, but I really liked what I saw of her in "Mob Wives". And therefor I cried when I read the news about her death.
And I feel like crying when I read all the gossip and tweets regarding Karen, Drita, Renee, Carla.
This is no BS-TV-show, this is the real life, where people die and never come back, where everything which is said and done has effects, sometimes even effects which are not wanted. Where words can heal or hurt, where gestures can mean the world and pride can be swallowed, just to allow others to have a good time.

When I heard of Ang´s death I was pretty sure all the big fuss about nothing would end. I was sure these grown women would be able to put there egos beside and come together in grieve. I was sure they would finally learn that life is too short and the times we live in are too unsecure too fight about things which could be ended with a good talk and a good dose of respect.

But no.

Maybe this is what you get when you lock people in hotel rooms and show them what others said about them, just to get good pictures for a tv-show (this is what was done by the mob wives producers before the reunion-show, according to some newspapers): Different groups who call the papers to spread gossip about the women in a reality show they don´t like. And fans who believe everything, as long as it hurts those women (and their fans). And journalists who take all this hate to make new stories, be they true or not, to earn money.

All the remaining mob wives are probably in shock, and everyone grieves different, therefor it´s pretty bad manners and style to compare, to judge or to come to conclusions. Everyone has the right to cry or grieve silently or give interviews or be silent, because everyone has to cope with a tragedy the way it´s best for him or her.

What happened yesterday was undignified, in my opinion. To exclude Karen from the memorial, to make pictures of the crying Drita (who surely mourned for her brother in law too, when crying), to search for hidden diss in Carla´s tweet, to call the papers to report stories which maybe were´nt even true, to not even forget the hate about the mob wives one hates when they all deserve to mourn in peace.

Maybe it is good the series comes to an end soon. Even when Ang was still alive all the drama about not much was too much - especially when everywhere in the world real drama occurs and we all can see daily in the news, what happens, when people do not speak with each other and do not try to find a common basis.

I am very sad that BigAng is gone. And I still hope for a happy end for each and every remaining mob wife.

Chiara Soprano said...

Tedesco thank you for your comments. I agree with everything you expressed here. It's a shame that even in time of death and mourning some people cannot put their own agenda's aside out of respect for Ang.

Melissa said...

Wow, this was a blow when I heard about Ang. Ang was bigger than life, it was like nothing was going to get her down, she was always the life of the party and making everybody laugh. The great thing about her, no matter who your favorite is, Ang was someone that everyone liked, people With Ang all the fighting was not going to phase her, she still was going to have fun and make everyone laugh. I would of loved to party with Ang at the Drunken Monkey.

A few questions Chiara: I heard someone comment that Karen was not at Ang's service, but I saw 2 pictures of her, watching the casket being brought in and a picture of her right behind Rene exiting the service? She was there, correct?

Brittany Fogarty stated that Ang's family did not want her at the funeral because of something her dad did. Is that the truth as far as you know it?

I know this site is no fan of Drita's, either am I, but you did not post any pics of Drita, I am sure attended, correct?

Nick said...

Chiara I just saw a picture with Carla and Jenn and Karen standing next to Nat G... Takin a picture at the Drunken Monkey... Even though its closed somehow they must of asked a favor to have one last drink their.. But Karen and Nat G together smiling... No Violence...

Now ppl on Carla's Instagram are saying that all the girls are friends no one has beef with anyone.... I know the show is scripted but Damn Karen and Nat G I hope you see the pic before Carla has it erased again.. I tried to copy and paste it here but for some reason it doesnt work when i do it.. Anywho... Its like someone told me Santa isnt real seeing Karen and Nat G side by side takin a pic together... Whats next Alicia and Karen... Oye

Lia said...

Big ang will be up there with all the mobsters now!!! I think it happened quickly so she wouldn't suffer.....she was to good a person to suffer.
Looks like her funeral and wake were exactly what she would have wanted......a beautiful over the top celebration of her life and outlook !!
Sad they are selling her dream house already.......maybe it's to hard for them to live in it with so much Big Ang paraphernalia around?
I think everyone will agree it's going to be so hard to watch the rest of the season 6 mobwives......shows how sad and petty these shows can be when situations like this are happening.
Crazy timing for her to pass after a week or two of filming the reunion of a 6 year running show..

Chiara Soprano said...

Many sites are reporting incorrect information for their own self-serving reasons. Karen was at the funeral home and the mass. Drita was at the funeral home. She also has me blocked for many years. I thought about using the pictures from other sites but I did not want to post pictures of her crying and invade her privacy during her time of grief. There are plenty of media outlets doing that.

Nick, there were pictures of the cast with Nat G. They all came out to celebrate Ang's life. Maybe Nat G wanted to put herself in the spotlight again, who knows. I do not believe they all made up and there are no issues between the ladies. I think they put their differences aside, as Ang would have wanted, for this moment in time. That was the right thing to do. People can say whatever they want, and many do, it doesn't make it true. Thanks for reading.

Unknown said...

People are having a field day with the picture of The girls and Gnatalie together. Now, they say that the show is fake, and that it is scripted, etc. In my opinion, The girls simply put their differences aside in this moment out of respect for Angela, because peace is all she wanted. That does not make them friends at all.

Chiara Soprano said...

I agree with you Terendo. They read way too much into a picture.

Anonymous said...

At the end of the day regardless of who you like and don't like they ALL lost a good friend almost like their Mamma Bear. It was very disgraceful for any rumors to have been said. No I don't believe Drita came to the funeral with security guards. I believe these men were hired by the family to keep everything under control especially that TMZ was bascially camped outside the whole time. I do feel that maybe Carla shouldn't had made any negative comment like that on her IG account because a Rag Magazine did qoute one of her exact lines. The only comments about the funeral if were negative should have been out of Ang's families camp. And it doesn't really matter cause it was all lies. The fact that Drita was with the family the whole entire weekend and was asked to stay at the private family memorial to share stories bascially just killed all those ugly rumors. Again this has nothing to do about Team This or Team That at this point it doesn't matter anymore. This is what Ang has been saying this whole time move on, get over it and everyone is at fault. That's what made Ang who she was. None of those girls are perfect they ALL have done stuff and it's all petty crap. Somewhere along the way MobWives lost that feeling that all got us to watch. And since Ang passing I don't think I can watch the rest of the season without me saying "really ladies enough!!"

kellymoe70 said...

I'm so sad. I want to thank you for several beautiful pieces over the last week about Angela. Tedesca & Chiara---very well said. We live in a world where every motion and emotion is distorted and exploited for gain, fame,etc. I only hope her family, friends and others don't read the trash. I still am floored by Angela Raiola' s beautiful heart, strength and her generosity and sweet spirit even at her most dire moment. I am working on quitting smoking....Thankful we all (viewers) were able to see a beautiful and unique person like her for these years.

Southern Plaid said...

What a fun ,& beautiful wake she had.

Thank u Ms. Chiara, for posting the picture of Karen. That made my day seeing her coming out of the Church.

Southern Plaid said...

I just can't with either Gnat, or Alicia. They came with an agenda from the " Giddy Up,". Hate Karen for her father's alledged murder of Alicia's FIL., & too turn Renee against Karen.

On a side note, Everyone is entitled to their opinion, & I respect that; However, I'm tired of the Grazaino Sister bashing. Jenn, & Renee made these ladies "Reality stars." They gave them a voice, & a paycheck. They should remember that.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Chiara for sharing these beautiful pictures and celebrating Big Ang's legacy and memories. We all felt loved from watching her especially when most of us didn't know her personally. She saw the humor in life and made everyone feel wanted and most important it was family first. My mother passed away from a cancer that gave no warning signs, she thought she had the flu one day and was told she had two weeks to live although she made it to five. It was chaos and devastating to watch a lady much like Big Ang die. My mother never cried only with the thoughts of leaving her loved ones behind and not being able to see her young grandchildren grow up. I hope everyone watches over her family in this time of grief and even VH1 and TMZ offers to help her family because it's what Big Ang deserved for the angel she truly was.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful blog. Thank you. I couldn't believe it's only been one week since watching Ang on Dr. Oz. I can't get her sad face out of my mind. So I decided to do something fun. In honor of Ang, I bought tickets to see Joan Jett in concert next weekend. I've always loved her music, and Ang would say, we have to live our life to the fullest.

There's one thing that bothers me. Ang went to the doctor alone and received the bad news. The doctor knew in advance what she was about to reveal and knew it would be on television. I wonder why they allowed this to be recorded without someone to support Ang. I know it's "reality" tv, but I would hope a doctor tells a producer on the side prior to recording that this is not going to be good. And if she did, I feel the producers were wrong to record. Ang was blind- sided by Jenn G.

Chiara Soprano said...

To the last Anonymous who is concerned about Ang's trip to the doctor alone. This is what I think happened in this instance. Ang had already gone to the doctor and got the news and then they filmed this "re-enactment" after, allowing Ang to decide whether or not she felt she could go through with it. The doctor seemed a little ill at ease with a cameraman in there and almost just went through the motions for the sake of getting the visit and results on film. There is no way Ang would have been blind sided by Jenn. She often asks the cast if they want to film something extremely personal and the decision is up to them. It's so upsetting that the disease progressed so quickly. Hopefully, we can all take some life lessons from Ang. Life's short.

Unknown said...

I am a very Big Fan of Mob Wives & Big Ang! I am going to miss you so much. I feel like I have lost one of my own. May you R.I.P and fly with the Angels.

Unknown said...

My heart goes out to Big Ang's family and friends I was watching t.v and seen the news. My heart just aches. I feel like I have lost one of my own. May you now R.I.P my friend & fly with the Angels. You may be gone but you WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN...