Friends and relatives of Mob Wives star Angela Raiola — or “Big Ang” — attended her funeral at St. Athanasius Church in Brooklyn, New York on Monday. Raiola died of Stage 4 brain and lung cancer.
More than 200 people, including fans of the reality star, said their goodbyes at a funeral mass at the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Dyker Heights at 9:30 a.m. after which she was to be buried at a cemetery on Staten Island. Her ex-husband, Neil Murphy, reportedly came to her funeral, as well as her brothers Stephen and Louis Raiola and son Anthony D’Onofrio.
Big Angis laid to rest on Staten Island https://t.co/wcWGcbpriR pic.twitter.com/uGfyoOhviK
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) February 23, 2016
She died at a mere 55 years of age on Thursday at a Brooklyn hospital after her yearlong battle with cancer. Angela Raiola was initially diagnosed last March with throat and lung cancer. As a result, the star underwent two medical procedures to treat the disease. She was believed to have been cancer-free until her doctors found she had Stage 4 brain and lung cancer in December.
Angela Raiola, the reality TV star known as “Big Ang” on “Mob Wives,” dies at age 55 https://t.co/5okHpCaHtj pic.twitter.com/s8Pswa4Mqa
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2016
“I thought I was cancer-free, I was going to have a big celebration…” Raiola said in her last interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz on The Dr. Oz Show, on February 16. The upcoming episodes of Mob Wives will cover her fight with cancer.
Appearing on The Dr. Oz Show last month, she revealed that she gets her strength from her loving family. “I look at my kids and my grandchildren and I know how much they need me,” the grandmother of six tearfully said.
Angela Raiola Breaks Down on ‘The Dr. Oz Show’
Raiola rose to fame on Mob Wives and later on starred on her own spinoff series Big Ang.
Her representative announced via Twitter that fans who wished to honor her memory could make donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Angela Raiola is remembered by her friends and neighbors as “incredibly kind,” and several other celebrities also paid tribute by sharing stories of her generosity.