Jeanne, their 100-year-old grandmother, has a special place in the hearts of Amanda Starace and her sister Brianna Pecora. As they grew up with a single mother, their grandmother often took on a major part in caring for them by being there all the time and showing them love.
Starace, 33, knew she wanted to commemorate her grandmother, who had prayed for her throughout the process, when she found out she was expecting a few years ago after a difficult time becoming pregnant. Her granny was ecstatic when she told her the wonderful news over lunch.
“My due date was October 8, which is also my birthday,” Starace exclusively discusses with PEOPLE. “My mom had a little boy called Joseph before me, so it’s a special day for our family. Born in August, he died on October 8, 1990, due to a genetic abnormality that hindered his ability to digest food. Then, on October 8, 1991, I was born.
“We felt like it was a sign from above that maybe Joseph had sent us this baby,” she continues. “We informed her that we would name the child Joseph if he was a male. However, we would name her after her if it were a girl. She was just overjoyed and shed many tears.
Starace acknowledges that she worried throughout her pregnancy that her grandmother’s elderly age might prevent her from seeing her baby. However, Jeanne, who was 98 at the time, was still going strong when Starace was due.
“You need to bring Grandma here right now,” Starace said over the phone to her mother after being discharged from the hospital. Starace remembers, “We never know how much time she has left.”
Her mother immediately took Grandma Jeanne to see her great-granddaughter, Lilly Jeanne, who was named after her. Jeanne was stunned to meet her great-granddaughter.
“My grandma’s name is Jeanne, but originally, it was spelled ‘Jean,'” said Starace. “She believed the spelling was too simple while she was doing World War II paperwork, so she modified it to ‘J-E-A-N-N-E,’ and it has remained that way ever since. “My name is Amanda Jean, spelled ‘Jean,’ just like hers was.”
Pecora, 28, captured her grandmother’s conversation with the child who bore her name in the moment.
Pecora discovered the touching video while searching through her camera roll after her grandmother’s recent health emergency. She chose to post it on TikTok, where it gained over two million views in a short period of time.
“I thought, ‘I’m in a nursing robe in this video!'” when Brianna informed me she had shared it. This is very humiliating! However, we just accepted it,” Starace recalls.
“I’ve been surprised by how many people have the name Jean,” she says. “There were 2,000 comments stating things like, ‘My grandma’s name is Jean,’ or ‘My middle name is Jean.'” That was really endearing, and I believe that many people were just feeling homesick for their grandparents. ‘I wish my granny were still around,’ some stated, or they related their personal associations with the video.
Starace and Pecora are savoring every second spent with their grandmother as she ages. They really appreciate the advice she imparts, especially her conviction that life should be loved and lived to the utmost. They also enjoy seeing Lilly Jean develop a unique relationship with her great-grandmother.
“I try to visit as often as I can — usually once or twice a month,” replies Starace. However, Lilly enjoys constantly FaceTiming her. Saying, ‘I’m Lilly Jean, exactly like you,’ she addresses her as ‘Grandma Jean’. Their connection is very charming. Lilly likes to show grandma all she can accomplish, and they even have a peanut butter & jelly lunch together. For her, FaceTiming is really crucial.
“I try to involve my grandma in almost everything I do with Lilly because I want her to remember her too,” she says. Witnessing the whole cycle, from my grandmother caring for me to her current assistance with my kid, has been very wonderful. It really is everything I could have hoped for.
