Grace Cottone, 89, Martin, ND died Sunday, September 9, 2018 at the St. Aloisius Hospital in Harvey, ND.  Funeral services will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 14, 2018 at the Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, ND.  Visitation will be there from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.  Burial will be in Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Grace was born in San Pedro, CA.  She lived there with her husband Joseph until his death in 2008. She moved to Martin, ND in 2012.

Grace was born on May 22,1929 in San Pedro, CA.  She was the daughter of Lorenzo and Frances (Parisi) LaGrasso.  She grew up there and graduated from San Pedro High School.  Grace married Joseph Cottone in April of 1951.   They lived in San Pedro where she was a homemaker.  Joseph died on December 31, 2008.  She moved to a farm near Martin, ND to live with her daughter, in January 2012.   Her parents immigrated to the United States around 1908 from Italy where they were born and raised in Palermo, Sicily.  By trade her father was a fisherman.  Her parents had 14 children but 2 died in infancy.  Grace was the second youngest of the remaining 12 and last girl of the family.  For this reason, Grace was given the nick name, Dolly.  To this day, her relatives still call her by that name.  Up until kindergarten, Grace only spoke Italian but once in school English became her predominant language.  She often said how much she loved to learn and boasted about how she earned straight A's in school.  Upon graduation from high school, she desired to go to business college but, because of the times, girls were not encouraged to pursue careers. While in ND, she enjoyed watching her grandchildren develop and find their own God-given talents and passions. She fondly expressed how sweet both children are.  She also loved the company of our little puggle dog, Princess, and our pet cat.  One of her biggest past times was watching religious programs and the world events on FOX News with her son-in-law.  She also enjoyed in-depth conversations on just about everything.  Grace had a deep respect for her country.   Both she and her family were proud to be Italian but most of all they were proud to be Americans.  All her brothers served in the armed forces either in World War II or in the Coast Guard.  She came from a large Italian family and married into one.  They all lived in close proximity to one another and devoted themselves to frequent family activities including the making of many Italian foods, from pastas to breads. Grace was an avid reader.  She immersed herself in reading the Bible and other Christian publications.  Above all, Grace had a deep love for God.  She was sharp even until the end and she believed that Jesus' return is very soon.   One of her loving pieces of advice she left us before she passed was to remember that nothing on this earth matters but only to keep our eyes on God and His son Jesus. Grace is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Ida and Rick Frueh of rural Martin, ND; two grandchildren, Elijah and Abigail; sister, Lena Clark (94) of Long Beach, CA, a sister-in-law, Elsie Cottone of San Pedro and numerous nieces and nephews.  Grace was preceded in death by her husband, parents and 12 siblings.