Genie Petrocco’s new book, “Cheers to 80” had its roots in a PBS series on ancestry. It turns out, the show helped her find some family she didn’t know, as well.
Petrocco said she was inspired by the PBS series “Finding Your Roots ” with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“I have always been fascinated by it. While watching the show, I would observe people wondering whether they were Greek or Spanish,” Petrocco said.
She loved learning about people’s origins and where they came from so much, it inspired her to take a DNA test herself. The test revealed some new information.
“To my surprise, I took the DNA test and discovered a cousin who was related to me from my childhood in the farming town of Welby, Colorado,” Petrocco said. “I believed I was primarily Italian, but when the results came in, I discovered I was 40% Greek. I explored my ancestry on my dad’s side since I was already familiar with my mother’s ancestry. “
The DNA testing results, her family history, and her upbringing in a farming community inspired Petrocco to start to write a book in 2019. She completed it in 2024 and released it, titled “Cheers to 80”, on Amazon on January 6, 2025.
The book focuses on Petrocco, a native of Colorado who traces her family’s history back to her fourth-generation great-grandfather, an immigrant from Italy who arrived in 1885. He initially settled in Denver before moving to Welby, where many Italian immigrants were involved in farming.
The book also documents their shared ancestry and newfound friendship, revealing her 40% Greek heritage and reconnecting with a distant cousin, Alice Gazetta Nichol, who became a significant political figure in Colorado.
From Italy to Boston to Denver
Petrocco’s family lineage began with her fourth-generation great-grandfather, Michelangelo Farinacci, who emigrated to America from Italy in the 1880s.
“He grew up in a small town called Campobasso before moving to Gildone. He arrived at Boston Harbor, learned about the mines in Colorado, and traveled to Colorado,” Petrocco said.
“I often wondered how he arrived in Colorado, perhaps by train. He came to the Denver area with his friend,” Petrocco said. “City Park in Denver was once a farm before it became a park, and my great-grandfather farmed there, and then he heard about a small farming community in Welby.”
Petrocco’s great-grandfather Farinacci met Antonia Pastore in Denver and married in 1895 at Sacred Heart Church in Denver.
“My great-grandfather Farinacci and his wife traveled to Welby in 1902, where they purchased land, and I have the land deed I found in the Adams County Records. He bought it from two Italian men,” Petrocco said.
Petrocco’s third-generation grandmother was Angelina Acierno, her father was Farinacci; her mother was Virginia Acierno, who married her dad, Anthony Joseph Adducci, in 1940.
“I never got to know my father; he was very sick, an alcoholic, and abusive,” she said. “After my Mom and Dad’s divorce, we returned to live with my fourth great-grandfather, Farinacci.
“He was getting old, so he leased the Welby land to Tony Perolia, who lived next door and died in 1960. I believe they sold the farm to the Gravel Company for $13,000,” Petrocco said.
She graduated from Adams County High School in 1959 and married Dominic Petrocco in 1961. Dominic, a farmer from Brighton-Henderson, was well known to her.
“Our two families knew each other because his family also were farmers and came from the same region as my great-grandpa Farinacci. We had two daughters, Angeli and Lisa. Angeli is an artist in Santa Fe who creates some pretty neat things. Lisa resides in Broomfield,” Petrocco said.
He later sold the farm and moved the family to Fort Collins in 1996.
Father’s side
Petrocco said she had not known her Cousin Alice Gazetta Nichol when she learned about her, although they grew up near each other.
“After my parents divorced, I didn’t have much to do with my Dad’s side of the family,” Petrocco said. “So I didn’t know Alice but knew who she was as a kid. We took our sacraments at Assumption Church in Welby.
“You wouldn’t believe it. About two or three days later, I received a phone call from Alice. I told her about my DNA testing, and she mentioned that she had her test done as well, and it came back with the same results. We were closely related.”
Petrocco said that Alice and her husband attended Westminster High School together. She informed them that her birthday was approaching, and she wanted to invite Genie and her husband, Dominic, to her 80th birthday party.
“We attended her 80th birthday party; from then on, I always met with her. Her husband was also ill at that time, and my husband wasn’t well either. So, whenever we could connect, either over the phone or in person, we did, and we grew very close,” Petrocco said.
Petrocco said that her Cousin Alice later became a Colorado State Representative, then served as a Colorado State Senator, and subsequently held the position of Adams County Commissioner for two terms.
Petrocco said she couldn’t follow suit. She said politics was not her cup of tea, but she became involved with the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, or SCFD.
“In 1988, when our legislatures passed a tax bill to be voted on, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) supported arts and culture. I was the representative from Adams County who visited various clubs to explain that one-tenth of one percent tax would go to the arts in counties such as Denver, Boulder, Adams, Weld, Arapahoe, and Jefferson,” Petrocco said.
Petrocco, Jackie Conner from the CSU Extension Office, and Adams County Commissioner Elaine Valente were founders of the Adams County Historical Society Museum.
It was Petrocco’s close relationship with her cousin Alice that inspired her to name her book “Cheers to 80.”
“Now, we are both in our 80s, ” Petrocco said. “The book narrates the story of our lives and upbringing in the farming community.”
Petrocco’s book is on sale at the Adams County Historical Society and Museum until March 31, from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The book “Cheers to 80,” can be found on Amazon.com.