Franco Santoro

Franco was born October 30, 1940 in Rome, Italy. Franco was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather and will be forever missed.

Franco was a former Italian Airforce Pilot. He later transitioned his career to civil aviation where he retired as a Captain and Pilot Instructor. As a pilot in the Italian Airforce he was stationed in Northern Italy close to the border with Eastern Europe where tensions were constantly high due to the cold war and had to often perform very dangerous drills to ensure the Italian boarder was protected . He was so valued for his skills and bravery that when he resigned in order to move to civil aviation his superior refused to open his resignation letter for weeks. At Alitalia Airline he started as Second Pilot but he was promoted to Captain soon after, again a testament to his preparation as a pilot. Within a few years he was asked to become a Pilot Instructor and spent countless hours teaching on simulators and on planes. Finally, he was also promoted to Check Pilot and ensured that flight crew members had met competency standards. Franco enjoyed training pilots and was a mentor to many of them.

When at home Franco enjoyed spending time with his family, traveling, playing golf and tennis with his friends and most of all doing jobs around the house. There was nothing he could not fix and loved doing a lot of the maintenance of his house. It was his way of relaxing and it was a true hobby for him.

Because of his kind nature he had countless friends and got along with everyone. Franco will be forever remembered as a kind, generous, humble, honest, forgiving and selfless person. He was a pillar of strength, support and joy for his whole family. He will be always loved, never forgotten and forever missed.

Surviving Franco is his loving wife Paola, his daughters Olga and Cristina, son in law David and grandchildren Isabella, Michael, Luca and Maria Elisabetta

A donation in memory and honor of Franco has been initiated at the American Lung Association: Click on the link below to donate.