28 May 1923 – 20 June 2020
Always smiling, courageous and undoubtedly stubborn, Giovanna (or Joan as she called herself in the United States) Bedini Roberti, did not let people’s prejudices and ignorance slow her down. She became indignant when rules weren’t followed.
During the war, having completed her master’s degree at the Istituto Statale Palladini and being employed as a “Concept Commissioner” at the Provincial Department of Agriculture & Nutrition, she cycled to work from La Cappella (a hill town where she and her family had sought refuge) to the office in the historic center of Lucca every day with her bicycle without tires. At one point as she crossed Piazza San Michele, she heard a young German soldier with a machine gun shouting “Achtung! Achtung!” as he ordered her to give him the bicycle at gunpoint. She told him she had permission to use the bike for work, but seeing his insistence, Giovanna gave it to him. Burning with rage at the Nazi, however, she immediately went to see the colonel of the SS to tell him everything. Despite his being the enemy, and despite having seen the remains of innocent Lucchesi including a child shot by the SS and left by the side of a road that she took everyday, Giovanna did not hesitate to tell the SS officer what had happened, showing him her papers and permit, and expressing clearly her wish that her bicycle be returned. The Colonel agreed that a rule had been broken. He got her into his Jeep, and took her to the German campground just outside the walls. Once the soldier was identified, the bicycle was immediately returned to Giovanna, who took it and went to work.
Giovanna liked innovations and was inspired by those who weren’t afraid to follow their dreams despite being women, people like Madame Sklodowska Curie, and a pediatrician, a friend of the family whom she wanted to emulate.
Giovanna finished her Chemistry studies at the University of Pisa even if the advent of the war prolonged the process. She had only to present her thesis to be finished with her doctorate, when she met Hubert Roberti, an Italian-American of Lucchese descent, whom she decided to marry. Hubert had told her that he thought she could finish her doctorate at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, their destination. After they arrived however, she found out that there was no educational reciprocity between the United States and Italy, and so she had to learn English and redo all of her education from elementary school onwards. When she finally arrived at Northwestern’s chemistry department, she was told that even if she received a chemistry degree, American scientific companies wouldn’t hire female chemists—at best, she could only become a high school science teacher. Giovanna went to work in the Sentinel Radio factory in Evanston, but when she got pregnant she had to quit her job because men didn’t want to see pregnant women. Not despairing, she began a course in computer programming, a brand new course of study: computers at that time occupied entire rooms, and struggled to complete tasks because despite their size, they operated with only 36 GB and received their instructions via paper punch cards. There was a tremendous demand for precise and logical people who could communicate with these early computers in COBOL and other machine languages. Giovanna became one of the midwest’s best programmers, and also learned that when you know something that everyone would like to exploit, it doesn’t matter if one is a woman or has a daughter – the bosses could even ignore the fact that Giovanna spoke English with an accent.
She began her first job in computer science in 1965 at the consumer loan company General Finance. Her success led her to the Blue Cross Association, the preeminent non-profit company of healthcare insurance in the United States. During her 20 years at the company she was promoted to Senior Systems Analyst, a very demanding position. In fact, she wrote an innovative and unique application for the nation that allowed Blue Cross to quickly and accurately anticipate how Medicare would apply government benefits to specific health claims.
With enthusiasm, Giovanna became one of the first Lucchesi nel Mondo members of the Chicago chapter, directed by Louis Da Prato. She was already a member of Chicago’s Mazzini Verdi Club, but she immediately became active in the Lucchesi club, and with her husband, Hubert J. Roberti, made many great friendships and numerous trips to Italy for Santa Croce with Da Prato.
During one of these tours, Angelo Piccinini, a member of Lucchesi nel Mondo-Chicago and close friend of the family, fell seriously ill and died soon after. Giovanna and Hubert left the tour to help Piccinini in his last days.
Always proud to be from Lucca, Giovanna told so many people so many times about the merits of her city that her daughter and her grandchildren have fallen in love with it. Her daughter, Grace received a Masters degree in Italian and taught at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as running a company specialized in importing products manufactured in Lucca. Giovanna instilled in everyone a great pride in Lucca’s history as an independent city-state, as well as great pride in the entrepreneurship of her family. Giovanna returned to Lucca often, especially in September to participate with other Lucchesi nel Mondo members in the procession of Santa Croce.
Together with her husband and daughter, she taught Italian to her grandchildren, who went to schools in Lucca for three years as young children and then spent many more months in Lucca, always feeling at home. The youngest even proposed marriage to his future wife on the city walls!
For her 40th wedding anniversary, Giovanna and Hubert threw a big party in Lucca to which they invited many relatives who had never been to the city – they fell in love with it and many have returned over the years. Even her son-in-law’s business associates have been to Lucca after hearing so much about it from Giovanna.
One of Giovanna’s last goals was to acquire dual citizenship, having lost her Italian one when she was naturalized by the USA after marrying an American. In 2018, at the age of 95, she managed to officially become Italian again, even if she never lost her Lucchesità. She always claimed to be the luckiest person in the world, but not only that, she was also among the most proudly Lucchese people in the world.
