Frances Lucisano Santoro

Santoro (Lucisano), Frances 89, has left this world and passed on to her spiritual life on Sunday, April 15, 2012. She was born April 14, 1923 and grew up in Reggio Calabria, Villa San Giovanni, Italy. Frances was a doctoral graduate in 1948 from the University of Messina, Italy, earning her Doctorate in Philosophy. Shortly after graduating she met the man of her dreams, Rocco Santoro from Port Chester, NY. It was “love at first sight” and on January 23, 1949 Rocco and Frances began their 52 year life together as husband and wife. They lived in Greenwich, CT and after her retirement they moved to Tower Isle, at North Redington Beach, Florida. Rocco passed away June 30, 2004.

Frances spent several years teaching Italian at adult education night school at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, CT. She became a well known and loved educator who put her heart and soul in teaching. After earning a reputation for her teaching skills she was hired as a language teacher in Port Chester Junior High in Port Chester, NY where her talents took her to Head of the Language Department for the entire Port Chester school system, retiring in 1986. She not only taught her students, she treated each one as her own child always there with motherly advice and counsel. Everyone, teachers and students alike, loved Mrs. Santoro!

Mothering skills began at home where she and Rocco parented two children, Concetta (Connie) Hutter and Domenick Santoro. She was the devoted grandmother to Michelle and Robert Hutter and Francesca Santoro (Reynolds), and loving great-grandmother to Brandon and Logan Reynolds. Frances was a caring mother-in-law to Roland Hutter and Donna Rader, Domenick’s wife; with a special place in her heart for her grand-daughter Francesca’s husband, James Reynolds. She leaves behind three sisters-in-law, Josephine (Santoro) Shepherd and her husband Carl, Chen Santoro, Eastchester, NY and Rosina Santoro, New Rochelle, NY; a brother-in-law and his wife, Alfred and Josephine Santoro from Gastonia, NC; and a nephew-in-law, Werner Sbaschnik. She will also be dearly missed by several relatives in Italy.

Frances’ family would like to give heartfelt thanks to her caregivers from Bayshore Home Health Care Services in Largo, Florida for their kind and gentle caring. She loved each one of them for their unending love and patience. Thank you is not enough for the care and love they gave our mother.

Memorial service held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the funeral home with committal prayers and inurnment following at Garden Sanctuary Cemetery in Seminole, FL.

Arrangements were made under the direction of Garden Sanctuary Funeral Home, 7950 131st Street North, Seminole, FL 33776 / 727-391-0121.