Arcangelo Clarizio

September 5, 1925 – June 11, 2015

Angelo was born on September 5th, 1925 in the city of Adelfia, a small town in Italy. His mother’s name was Adrianna and his father’s name was Andrea. He had a twin sister Vita and a younger brother Guiseppe.

As a child, he was raised around a family of farmers who owned acres of land growing fruits and vegetables to eat, sell, and make wine. He went to school in Italy until the 7th grade, but had to drop out to work and support his family. He worked long days on the family farm. He was a tough kid and a hard worker. He carried his strong work ethic with him throughout his life and used that strength to achieve his American dreams and goals.

Angelo was 30 years old when he married his first wife Rosa Cecerre in Italy. They had a daughter named Adrianna. After six years, they moved to America due to the fact that his wife Rosa had most of her family in the states. With Angelo’s assistance, his Mother, Sister, and Brother all eventually came to America to live out the rest of their lives.

He was no stranger to hard work. He did small odd jobs here and there to make some money but got his first “real” job working for Price Pfister in a faucet assembly plant. He often talked about how rough that job was. He would work very long hours in “sweat shop” conditions assembling the same small pieces over and over again.

He continued to work at Price Pfister all the while supporting his family and also saving whatever he could. He eventually saved enough money to purchase a home with rental units behind it. It was approximately six years into his life in America when tragedy struck. He was doing some remodeling work to one of the back apartments with his wife and daughter. While working, the apartment caught fire. He was blown outside but ran back in to get his wife and daughter out of the unit. He succeeded in pulling his wife and daughter out but Rosa and Adrianna eventually passed away due to complications from the burns. Angelo also suffered extensive burns to his body. His son Andre recalls running into an old neighbor who remembered the event and remembered how Angelo continued to tend to his wife and daughter outside the building even though his clothes were still burning. He wouldn’t stop until the firemen arrived.

He ended up in a burn center and went through a whole year of extensive treatments, skin grafts, and rehab. At one point he spent weeks with his left heel sewn to his right thigh to help grow skin back in the thigh area. His toughness and perseverance got him through it and back on his feet again.

After his year of treatment he got a job at Van de Kamps Bakery in Los Angeles. He worked at Van de Kamps for 18 years. After his first year at Van de Kamp, he requested a month off so he could fly to Italy and find a wife.

Turns out, when it came to women, he was a very picky person. He was introduced to 16 women, none of which came up to his standards. He was ready to give up and return to America. In the neighboring city of Modugno, while walking away from the 16th woman, he happened to see this young woman painting a doorsill at her home. It was art this time he saw Serafina. He got close to Serafina and tried to be discreet, but Serafina could see him looking her up and down. It was love at first sight. The rest is history.

He was married to Serafina on October 27, 1968 in Italy. Angelo returned to the states. Four months later He brought his new wife to America to spend the next 47 years together.

Angelo was not much of the romantic type but you could see how much he loved his wife by the way he looked at her. It was the small things that he would do that let Serafina know how much he cared for her, and in turn, Serafina showed her love for him by meticulously caring for Angelo and never leaving his side during his 14 years of struggling with illnesses.

They had three sons. Andre was born first. Their second child was born ill and passed away several hours after birth. Lastly they had their third son Robert. Angelo worked several jobs at the same time………..Van de Kamps, cutting lawns, and odd repair jobs here and there. His wife, Serafina also did her part and together they built a small empire of rental properties. He wanted to make sure his sons did not have to work as hard as he did during his life.

Angelo loved his family. In fact, he could tolerate many things but you did not mess with his family. He wanted the best for his sons and instilled in them the same work ethic that he had. He inspired them to work hard and earn an honest living. He would tell them to find a job they loved to do. He would say “Understand this…………….a job is like your wife. You have to love them enough to be with them your whole life.”

He wanted his sons to have the things he never had. For instance, Angelo never learned how to swim. He made sure that both his sons learned. Actually, I think he taught his sons how to swim so they could pick mussels from under the docks and sea urchins from the ocean, both a common occurrence. It was a big deal for him to give his sons their own rooms to sleep in. These small things meant the world to him and he did whatever he had to be done to provide them to his family.

You didn’t mess with his family, but you really did not mess with his garden! Angelo had a great passion for gardening and he was very good at it. Half of his backyard was dedicated to the garden. He had the other half covered with concrete because he always said you shouldn’t waste water on grass! He loved growing vegetables, fruits, and really anything that could be grown and eaten….even certain weeds…..the Italians know what those are! His sons were probably yelled at more for messing with the garden than getting in trouble for things outside of the home. He would lean up against the railing for hours and when asked what he was doing he would say he was talking to the plants. He also loved sharing his knowledge about gardening. He would often be asked by friends and family to come over and help with planting or pruning trees. Sometimes you wouldn’t have to ask……….especially for his sons. If his sons or their wives happened to mention they liked a certain fruit, he would show up when you were not home and plant that tree in the middle of their yard. Usually it wasn’t where you might have wanted it but if it was best for the tree, that’s where he would plant it. When you would come home to your newly planted tree planted where you didn’t want it……..he would just smile and couldn’t understand why you had a strange look on your face!

Like many Italians from the old country, Angelo loved the homemade things in life such as making wine, tomato sauce, curing olives, and of course picking that orange/yellow fungus off the side of carob trees around the neighborhood. Along with his wife and their best friends Nick and Lucy Pantaleo, Angelo was part of many crazy but fun and memorable adventures. They became masters at packing their cars with full loads of tomatoes, grapes, olives, or bell peppers. Every open space in their cars was used…..even the glove box. One year they made six oak barrels worth of wine. His friends loved his wine and asked for his recipe but he never gave it up. The backyard was set up so that tomato sauce could be made in a production line fashion with gas pipes precisely placed so that tubs of water could be boiled quickly and used to cook the tomatoes.

Finally, Angelo loved to joke around. He was always good for a laugh when sitting at the dinner table and was the master at throwing out a dirty joke at the most awkward moment. He knew how to take the edge off of a stressful moment and bring things back down to earth. He loved to use Charo’s catch phrase “Cuchi Cuchi” and many of his tenants and sons friends still remember him using that phrase when kidding around with them. Its not uncommon for people to ask how’s the Cuchi Cuchi Guy, or ask does he still say Cuchi Cuchi.

Angelo had many struggles throughout his life but he also had many great moments to be thankful for. His toughness, strong work ethic, perseverance, and ability to find the funny side of things got him through the tough times. His children cared for him but his wife cared for him like no other. She was the best nurse in the world! His children married wonderful wives and all are successful. His grandchildren are all heathy and moving in the right direction to do great things. He was a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, great uncle, and great-great uncle and dear friend to many.

He will be missed…….Rest in Peace Angelo.

Viewing will be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 from 3:00pm until 9:00pm, with a 7:30pm Rosary, at Callanan & Woods Scovern Mortuary, 511 S. Central Avenue Glendale, CA 91204. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, June 18, 2015, 10:00am, at the Church of the Incarnation, 1001 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91202. Interment will follow at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, 11160 Stranwood Avenue Mission Hills, CA 91345.

In Lieu of flowers, the Clarizio family urges you to please donate to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. You may donate by calling 1-800-805-5856 or online at www.stjude.org

Arrangements under the direction of Callanan & Woods Scovern, Glendale, CA.