To many regulars, Marie A. Campisi had been the persona of her family's Italian restaurant since the early 1980s.
"She was the Col. Sanders of Campisi's back in those days," said her son, David Campisi of Dallas.
Ms. Campisi would proudly flaunt her heritage as she greeted and mingled with customers at the Mockingbird Lane landmark.
Ms. Campisi, 61, died Monday of natural causes in Dallas.
A Mass of Christian burial will be at 11 a.m. today at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, where she was an active member. She will be entombed in Calvary Hill Mausoleum.
Ms. Campisi loved to tell customers her place in the popular Dallas restaurant's lineage, said her daughter, Elizabeth "Sissy" Campisi Rizzuto of Metairie, La.
"She would always say, 'Do you know who I am? I'm Marie, Joe Campisi's daughter,' " Ms. Rizzuto said.
Ms. Campisi was born in Dallas, where she was a member of the first graduating class of Bishop Dunne High School.
She joined the family business in the early 1980s, as her children graduated from high school.
"Her role there was out front, talking to customers," her son said. "That was her stage ... her personality just fit right in with that."
When she wasn't greeting customers, Ms. Campisi was busy managing the restaurant's administration, from paying bills to maintaining licenses.
In 1946, Joe Campisi and other family members founded what became the landmark Italian restaurant. Mr. Campisi and his wife, Marie Cole Campisi, operated the restaurant until it was passed on to the next generation. Mr. Campisi died in 1990. Marie Cole Campisi died in 2007.
Ms. Campisi was also known for her love of family and her generosity.
She lived a simple life, enjoying the vicarious pleasures of the gifts she gave, her son said.
If she gave tickets to a football game, she might discuss the game play-by-play via another of her favorite pastimes, visiting on the telephone, her son said.
And Ms. Campisi was very giving, her daughter said.
"No one has ever left my mom's house without her giving them something, whether it was Chanel lipstick or a bag of breadcrumbs," Ms. Rizzuto said.
In addition to her son and daughter, Ms. Campisi is survived by a brother, Carlo "Corky" Campisi of Dallas; two sisters, Jo Ann Frey and Regina McMahon, both of Dallas; and two grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the St. Thomas Aquinas School Building Fund, 6306 Kenwood Ave., Dallas, Texas 75214.
