Elizabeth G. (Miraldi) Profant

Elizabeth G. “Liz” Profant (nee Miraldi)

Elizabeth G. Profant, 88, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 3, at her home in Sheffield Lake. 

Liz was born Sept. 16, 1933, in Lorain. She graduated from Lorain High School in June 1951 (Class B). She later met and married John Profant. 

Liz took a cake decorating class early in her marriage and went on to bake and decorate hundreds of cakes, for family and friends as well as paying clients. 

Her designs ranged from traditional cakes with hand-detailed flowers. to 3D castles, dolls and farms, to pictures — hand-drawn with frosting — of hot rod cars, Snoopy, Minnie Mouse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

She also loved making cookies and brownies, baking up dozens to distribute at Christmas or simply to thank someone or let them know she was thinking about them. 

Baked goods were part of her career as well: Liz worked for nearly 30 years at the bakery in  Giant Eagle (previously Rini Rego and Fazio’s), where her positions ranged from clerk to manager and where she earned a 100% rating from a corporate “secret shopper” sent to monitor employees’ work. 

One of her favorite aspects of the job was meeting people. She truly enjoyed hearing their stories and getting to know them and embodied the phrase “she never met a stranger.” In fact, she sometimes joked, “People never believe I used to be shy.” 

But she was shy. As the firstborn of parents Algae and DeLinda Miraldi (nee Orlando), who immigrated to Lorain from Montanaro, Italy, Liz started first grade speaking only Italian. She gradually learned English, later helping her family speak it as well. 

Her Italian heritage was reflected in her cooking, and she was known for her delicious meatballs, manicotti, lasagna and more, which guests “had” to take home with them when they left.

When she wasn’t expressing her creativity through cooking and baking, Liz enjoyed updating the decor of the family’s home, often customizing accessories and sewing her own curtains. She had a true knack for silk flower arranging, and vases of colorful flowers appear throughout her house. Real plants also thrived under her care, including tomato plants that busted out of their cages every year. 

Liz loved to dance, and she and John did the jitterbug or danced to rock ‘n’ roll every chance they got at weddings and other parties. In later years, she took care of him through health challenges. 

She especially loved spending time with her family and friends, many of whom she met as a parishioner at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Lorain and as a member of the church’s Marion Guild, where she was once voted Woman of the Year.  

Liz always had a smile and a friendly word for everyone, and a generous, giving spirit that made the world a better place. She will be dearly missed by all. 

Survivors include her son John M. (Sandra); daughter Kim; grandson Jason; sister Mary Miraldi; sister-in-law Becky Profant; loving cousins; nieces and nephews; other relatives; and friends. 

She was preceded in death by husband John; son Dennis; parents Algae and DeLinda; brother Valentino “Val”; brothers-in-law Allan and Tony; and sister-in-law Annette. 

Visitation is 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at Reidy-Scanlan-Giovannazzo Funeral Home, 2150 Broadway, Lorain, (440) 244-1961. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Friday, March 11, at St. Anthony of Padua, 1305 E. Erie Ave., Lorain, Rev. Edward J. Smith, Pastor, officiating. A luncheon will be held at the church’s social hall immediately after Mass, followed by burial at 1:30 p.m. Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon. Donations may be made in Liz's memory to St. Anthony's Church.

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