Grace Montefusco and Lou Pavia were both born in Newark, New Jersey to immigrant parents from Italy. Grace was one of eight children and her father owned a grocery store. Lou was the oldest of four children and his father was a tailor. Grace graduated from high school and went on to take additional training in bookkeeping. Lou had to drop out of high school to help support his family. One day, one of Grace‘s brothers brought home his friend Lou. Grace and Lou fell in love and got married. They enjoyed going to the beaches and boardwalks of the Jersey Shore and family dinners on holidays. During World War II, Grace worked as a bookkeeper in a defense company, collecting funds for war bonds. Lou was a butcher unable to join the military due to the loss of his fingers in an accident. They were married and had three children. Frank, Louis Jr. and Robert. They lived in a house they owned in Newark, New Jersey. Then they sold it in 1958 and moved to the Jersey Shore buying one of the first homes in a new waterfront development linked to Barnegat Bay, where they also invested in land. Lou worked as a butcher, and in the construction trades. Grace worked as a bookkeeper in a grocery store. Lou eventually began to build custom homes on the property he acquired and became a full time home builder . They worked hard, saved and invested. They also emphasized the importance of education and put their three children through college. They enjoyed traveling and went to Italy several times as well as other places in Europe and Asia. Lou lived until his early 80s and Grace was able to celebrate her 100th birthday with the families of their three children, including her seven grandchildren and her then 10 (now 13) great grandchildren. The family now lives not only in the Jersey Shore area but also in Central Jersey, New York City, Northern Virginia, Central Florida, San Fransisco Bay area, greater Seattle and Belgium. As a tribute to their compassion and family orientation the family . established a private family foundation to engage all generations of their family in helping others. Three generations of Grace and Lou’s family participate in administering the foundation, with a fourth generation getting ready for the future.
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We are actively supporting the following organizations, and continuously evaluating new opportunities to support missions and causes for Good.
Aiming to make a direct and lasting impact on babies and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and living in low- and middle-income countries by providing them and their families access to resources and expertise they need to learn to listen and speak and achieve their full potential.
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Providing opportunity for Veterans to engage in therapeutic experiences with horses to overcome personal challenges coming as a result of their service to our country.
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