Cornelia A. Hoberg (Maddalena)

SIOUX CITY -- Cornelia Antonietta Maddalena Hoberg, 80, of Sioux City entered into eternal rest Monday, June 20, 2011.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, with Monsignor Roger J. Augustine officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Larkin Northside Chapel Christy-Smith Funeral Homes. Online condolences may be posted at www.christysmith.com .
Elia, as she was affectionately known, was born Nov. 30, 1930, in the Chiaia Quarter of Naples, Italy, the daughter of Michele and Giovanna (Basile) Maddalena.
She became a war bride at age 15, marrying Robert J. Hoberg on March 31, 1946. She moved to Sioux City shortly thereafter, knowing very little English. They were blessed with four children, Robert M., Joanne, John and Charles. Her marriage to Robert lasted 55 years until his death in 2001. Sioux City remained in her home for most of her 80 years.
Cornelia was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church for many years. She was a longtime member of the Sioux City War Brides Club. She was well known in Sioux City for being an Italian interpreter for anyone who asked. She loved spending winters at her "Taj Mahal" in Naples, Fla. The love, generosity, humor, regard and compassion she freely gave to friends and strangers alike was sincerely appreciated by all. She will be dearly missed.
Survivors include her four children, Robert and his wife Alice of Bartlett, Tenn., Joanne of Rome, Italy, John and his wife Terri of Urbandale, Iowa, and Charles and his wife Julie of Sioux City; 13 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a sister, Olga di Lorenzo of Rome; and nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Italy.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert; her father, Michele Maddalena; her mother, Giovanna Basile; a brother, Mario Maddalena; and a sister, Italia Maddalena.