Alma E. (Abate) Toto
Alma Toto passed away, November 3, 2018, at home while receiving hospice services from All Care VNA and Hospice in Lynn. She was 95.
She was the wife of the late James Toto, owner of Toto’s Barbershop on Broadway, and mother of her devoted daughter, Donna. She was the daughter of the late Alfred Abate and Mary (Cataldo) Abate and sister to the late Alfred Abate, Jr. (Buddy). She also leaves her niece Janine Giglio and her husband, Steven, of Middleton and grandniece Danielle Giglio of North Carolina, as well as her dear friend, Emily Chanley of Derry, New Hampshire, and her longtime home health aide and friend, Danielle Guarente.
Alma was born in Boston and grew up together with many cousins in the Orient Heights section of the city. She lived there until 1948 when she moved to Revere with her husband Jim, a Revere native. She remained in Revere until her death, 16 years after the passing of her husband, Jim, in 2002. She was a graduate of the former Girls’ High School in Boston, class of 1940, and attended Boston Clerical School (now Boston Business School). She began her work as a secretary at the federal government’s First Service Command, Boston’s army headquarters during World War II. She then moved on as a secretary to the government’s film library in Boston, which distributed films to soldiers overseas during the war. She later would continue as a secretary, performing post-war work at Watson Laboratory at MIT. She then left Watson, marrying on September 14,1947. The family also gratefully acknowledges the dedication and support of the hospice team and home health aides from All Care Hospice, 210 Market Street in Lynn.