Vita Smith
September 30, 1942 — February 20, 2019
Vita Louise (Pavia) Smith, 76, of Stamford, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on
Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Born on September 30, 1942 in Stamford to the late Paul P., Sr. (former
postmaster for the City of Stamford) and Rose Sabia Pavia.
In her early years, Vita worked as a legal secretary to Frank Pimpinella. Later, she worked at Pitney
Bowes in the patent department, the law offices of Barr and LaCava and finally at Wofsey, Rosen,
Kweskin and Kuriansky where she was a paralegal secretary to David Cohen. In 2005, Vita became a
liver transplant recipient and after her retirement from Wofsey, Rosen, returned to work at Lord and
Taylors as the Ralph Lauren specialist.
She is survived by her loving children, Lisabeth J. Buzzeo and her husband Alphonse of Stamford,
Kenneth M. D’Andrea and his wife Kimberlee of Hamilton Township NJ; Daniel P. D’Andrea and his wife
Amy of Stamford; Brian M. D’Andrea of Mission Viejo, CA, as well as her six grandchildren, Jessica, Mia,
Samantha and Daniel D’Andrea, Jr. and Allison and Matthew Buzzeo. She is also survived by her sister in
law Carmela (Chick) Pavia; her sister in law Marybeth Bernardo of Florida and her husband Robert;
stepson Billy Smith of Florida and former husband Kenneth W. D’Andrea of Stamford, CT.
In addition to her parents, Vita was also predeceased by her husband Carlton (Bill) Smith, three
brothers, Nicholas, Giacomo (Jack) and Paul P. Pavia Jr. and her sisters in law Jeannette Pavia and
Caroline Pavia.
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle
Avenue, Stamford on Monday, February 25, 2019 at 10:30 AM for a Mass of Christian Burial to be
celebrated at 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart RC Church, 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford. Family and friends
may call at the funeral home on Sunday, February 24, 2019 from 1:00-5:00 PM. Interment will be held privately.
Vita’s family would like to sincerely thank the kind, caring staff at the Residence on Summer Street for
taking exceptional care of her. Vita was cherished and loved by everyone there. She was lucky to be
surrounded by such wonderful people in her last days and they were better for knowing her. Also, a
special thank you to Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County and to Dr. Shara Israel. M.D.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Vita’s memory to the American Liver
Foundation, 39 Broadway, Suite 2700, New York, NY 10006
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Born on September 30, 1942 in Stamford to the late Paul P., Sr. (former
postmaster for the City of Stamford) and Rose Sabia Pavia.
In her early years, Vita worked as a legal secretary to Frank Pimpinella. Later, she worked at Pitney
Bowes in the patent department, the law offices of Barr and LaCava and finally at Wofsey, Rosen,
Kweskin and Kuriansky where she was a paralegal secretary to David Cohen. In 2005, Vita became a
liver transplant recipient and after her retirement from Wofsey, Rosen, returned to work at Lord and
Taylors as the Ralph Lauren specialist.
She is survived by her loving children, Lisabeth J. Buzzeo and her husband Alphonse of Stamford,
Kenneth M. D’Andrea and his wife Kimberlee of Hamilton Township NJ; Daniel P. D’Andrea and his wife
Amy of Stamford; Brian M. D’Andrea of Mission Viejo, CA, as well as her six grandchildren, Jessica, Mia,
Samantha and Daniel D’Andrea, Jr. and Allison and Matthew Buzzeo. She is also survived by her sister in
law Carmela (Chick) Pavia; her sister in law Marybeth Bernardo of Florida and her husband Robert;
stepson Billy Smith of Florida and former husband Kenneth W. D’Andrea of Stamford, CT.
In addition to her parents, Vita was also predeceased by her husband Carlton (Bill) Smith, three
brothers, Nicholas, Giacomo (Jack) and Paul P. Pavia Jr. and her sisters in law Jeannette Pavia and
Caroline Pavia.
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle
Avenue, Stamford on Monday, February 25, 2019 at 10:30 AM for a Mass of Christian Burial to be
celebrated at 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart RC Church, 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford. Family and friends
may call at the funeral home on Sunday, February 24, 2019 from 1:00-5:00 PM. Interment will be held privately.
Vita’s family would like to sincerely thank the kind, caring staff at the Residence on Summer Street for
taking exceptional care of her. Vita was cherished and loved by everyone there. She was lucky to be
surrounded by such wonderful people in her last days and they were better for knowing her. Also, a
special thank you to Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County and to Dr. Shara Israel. M.D.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Vita’s memory to the American Liver
Foundation, 39 Broadway, Suite 2700, New York, NY 10006
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Vita Smith, please visit our flower store.