Funeral and memorial service details for Angela “Big Ang” Raiola are set, her rep confirms to Us Weekly.
The Mob Wives star, who at age 55 passed away on Thursday, February 18, will be laid to rest early next week at the Resurrection Cemetery in her native Staten Island, New York.
There will be four visitations for the VH1 reality star, with all being held at the Scarpaci Funeral Home in Brooklyn. A formal memorial service will then be held on Monday, February 22, at the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Brooklyn.
Fans and friends have already left condolences and regards on Big Ang’s memorial website under the “Book of Memories” section. “My Condolences go out to the family of Big Ang,” one person wrote on Friday. “She was a beautiful person inside and out. Had a heart of gold and was loved by so many. She will be deeply missed. She is now in God’s hands and with those beautiful Angels. R.I.P. my friend.”
Ang’s sister Janine Detore spoke to Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, February 18, and detailed the star’s peaceful final moments surrounded by her siblings and beloved family members. “All of us brothers and sisters, which there’s seven, [were there],” Detore recalled. “She died at 3:01 [a.m.], we stood until about 4:30 … The hospital was very good to us. They really were.”
Big Ang was first diagnosed with throat cancer in March 2015. After undergoing two surgeries, she was believed to be in the clear. However, doctors later diagnosed the reality star with stage IV lung and brain cancer.
In one of her final interviews, Big Ang told Dr. Oz that she was “hysterical” when she learned of the diagnosis.
Detore told Us on Thursday that Ang accepted her condition over time. “She was so at peace with death,” Detore said. “She was OK with it. She said she didn’t want to live, being on the medicine, doing all that. She didn’t want to do that. And she said, ‘If it’s my time, it’s my time, just tell me. I want to spend my time with the grandchildren and with my family.’ She wanted to be home and all that.”
