Pietro Eustachio

Pietro Eustachio, 84, was welcomed into the arms of the Good Shepherd on May 30, 2023, while resting at home with his beloved wife of 59 years. He was born June 7, 1938, in Mezzojuso in Sicily, Italy, to Salvatore and Rosalia Eustachio, as the eldest of three boys. The small town was a gathering of friends and neighbors who were more like family. Raised with modest means in a family of sheepherders, Pietro inherited a strong work ethic, integrity, determination, stewardship, and devotion to family, traits that he carried throughout his life.

In 1957, at 18, Pietro voyaged with his parents and two brothers, Giuseppe and Vincenzo, to America, arriving in New York with a steamer trunk full of dreams, in clear view of the Statue of Liberty. They traversed the country from New York to California, searching for a welcoming city to claim as home. While visiting a cousin in Dallas, Pietro fell in love with Texas. He would soon fall in love again on a return visit to Sicily when he met Grazia “Grace” Sciortino at a town festival. They were immediately smitten; Pietro proposed within six weeks, and they married shortly after, on September 12, 1963, in her hometown of Campo Felice in Sicily.

Pietro worked hard in Dallas, finally saving enough money to launch his namesake eatery Pietro’s Italian Restaurant, serving authentic and traditional family-style Italian dishes. He and Grace worked side by side six nights a week for more than half a century, earning accolades as a heritage establishment in the Lower Greenville Avenue neighborhood and across North Texas. They lived above the restaurant in the early days while raising three children, welcoming all family members to help in the family business, including Grace’s brother, Enzo Sciortino, and Pietro’s cousin and master chef, Santo Spataro, who worked in the kitchen for 40 years.

Loyal customers became an extended family, some frequenting the restaurant for decades, dining on the red and white checkered tablecloths while savoring the fresh flavors of the signature red sauce with homemade pasta from scratch, combo pizza, oversized meatballs, minestrone, Italian cheesecake, cannoli, and tiramisu. Pietro would say, “I love my customers, and my customers love me!” The landmark restaurant closed in 2017 after 57 years of service, allowing Pietro and Grace to spend precious time with their grandchildren and more leisure time enjoying hobbies such as gardening, listening to Italian music and Dean Martin songs, and watching classic Western movies.

Pietro’s legacy includes faith, family, food, and fellowship. The Eustachio children and grandchildren learned that homemade cooking is an expression of love, that service brings people together, that sacrifice is an essential ingredient in building a family business, and that faith is the secret sauce in a strong family life.

Pietro was preceded in death by his parents and son, Pietro Eustachio, Jr. In addition to his adoring wife, he is survived by his brothers Giuseppe “Joseph” and Vincenzo “Vince” Eustachio, and their families, of San Diego; his daughter Rose Lafferty and husband, Mark, of Dallas; daughter Claudia Powell and husband, Jared, of Dallas; grandson Joseph Lafferty, and wife, Gina, of Dallas; grandson Nicholas Lafferty, of Dallas; grandson Peter Eustachio, of Dallas; granddaughters Grace Powell, and Giuliana Powell, of Dallas; great-granddaughter Gisella Lafferty, of Dallas; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation is Wednesday, June 7, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with Recitation of the Rosary at 6:30 p.m. at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75225.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 6306 Kenwood Ave., Dallas, TX 75214, with Fr. John Libone and Deacon Tony Campise presiding. The Rite of Committal will follow at Calvary Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery, 3235 Lombardy Ln., Dallas, TX 75220. The family will receive guests at a reception following the interment in the parish center at Christ the King Catholic Church, 8017 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75225.

Fond memories and messages of condolence may be sent to Sparkman-Hillcrest.com for the

Eustachio Family.