So sorry that he left us, but so glad that he lived.  How lucky to have have known him and shared a bit of his life.  He spends his Eternity in your hearts.  You carry him with you always.

I am very sorry for your loss.  I am grateful and blessed I had the opportunity to meet him.  Prayers for your family.

La vie est éphémère, mais le souvenir d’un être cher reste. Je vous souhaite beaucoup de courage, et suis de tout coeur à vos côtés, sincères condoléances à vous : 
Giuseppina, Rina (Thomas Hink), Santo, Fran Lausin (Steven) et John (Lucia), Lili Mickey (Brad), Frank, Johnny (Kristen), Joseph et Alexa Catena, Vince et Kayla Mickey, Leo, Vera et AJ Catena. Je ne vous connais que par les réseaux sociaux, mais la famille est ce qu'il y a de plus important. 🖤❤️ Vous êtes dans mon cœur. 

Life is fleeting, but the memory of a loved one remains. I wish you a lot of courage, and I wholeheartedly at your side, sincere condolences to you:
Giuseppina, Rina (Thomas Hink), Santo, Fran Lausin (Steven) and John (Lucia), Lili Mickey (Brad), Frank, Johnny (Kristen), Joseph and Alexa Catena, Vince and Kayla Mickey, Leo, Vera and AJ Catena . I only know you from social media, but family is the most important thing. 🖤❤️ You are in my hearts. 
Annie Longhitano 

What a wonderful man.  Always would greet you like family in the restaurant. My deepest sympathy and prayers for the whole Catena family.  

Nicola Roberto 

Papa Catena, was so very kind and will truly be missed.  My sincere sympathies are extended to Mama Catena, Fran  and Rina and the entire Catena family. God bless and keep you all. 

Rest in peace, Papa, with the Angels and Saints who have welcomed you with open arms. Deepest sympathy to Mama, Rina, Santo, Fran, and John, who will continue to proudly carry on your name with the greatest restaurant in Northeast Ohio!

We are patrons of Mama Catena’s for many years. Francesco and I were in the hospital together recovering from knee replacement.  What a kind man with a beautiful family.   He will be missed by many.  

Carol and Ken Nicolai 

We remember the first time meeting Mama and Papa at the restaurant.  They were quietly dancing in the corner.  Later they came to the table asking if everything was to our liking.  Of course, we answered yes and fell in love with the restaurant and the entire Catena family!!!  Please accept our sincerest condolences on the loss of Papa.  He was a true role model for your family, will be missed and left a beautiful legacy.  Rita & Bruce

So many people will miss Papa. We are saddened by his passing. Over the years we brought many people to the restaurant and celebrated numerous family events there. Everyone was greeted as if they were members of the family. A true testament to the power of love. The  Carro family.Dean,Wendy,Ben,Adam and Jen.  Did he have a favorite charity? 

I have had the great honor and pleasure of working with Papa and his amazing family for years. Like many of you who have been guests in their warm and inviting restaurant, I have been made to feel like a part of the Catena family. 

Over the years, I would often visit the restaurant just after returning from Italy. I would always smuggle a bottle of Italian Grappa back for Papa. We would try the first glass together. Even in his later years, when medical advice argued against him drinking the notorious Italian firewater, he would have a little sip. He would give me a mischievous wink and down a shot - just to make sure it was the good stuff - then pour the rest for family and friends.

Like most of you, I see Papa reflected in the beauty and love of his awesome family, and the warm friendliness of the excellent restaurant that he and Mama founded. A place to gather with friends and feel, in a way, like we are ALL one big family. 

Godspeed Papa! Please know how much you have meant to so many of us whose lives you and your family have touched. I will forever treasure the memory of that sly, conspiratorial wink across a glass or two of grappa, and will never have a taste again without thinking of you!


Sending lots of Love and Prayers your way Steve,  Fran and the whole Catena Family. You had a Beautiful life together and now he is your Angel watching over you all. May your hearts be  soothed and filled with all the LOVE <3  

To Mr. & Mrs. Lausin,
My condolences to you & your  family.  I'm  very sorry for your loss. May God bless you & your loved ones in grief at this time.

Your Friend, 
Gotthard  Hirzer

Frank was a very kind and loving man.  The entire family is a very big part of our community. He will be sorely missed. Thank you for Frank for being you. God bless the Catena family.🙏❤️

Dear Catena Family,
So very  sorry for the loss of your Papa. Remember to always keep the wonderful memories you have of  him, so that he may live in your hearts forever ♥

The Bensi family sends our deepest heartfelt sympathy to the Catena’s at this difficult time. Our hearts ache, and we feel the emptiness from the loss of our beloved “PaPa”. He always made us feel as if we part of your family, and we felt he was part of ours.
 We will miss his hugs and conversations, his laughter and smile, watching the wonderful and deep love he shared with his beloved “MaMa”, and the love we felt from him.
We will miss him, but knowing he is at peace and smiling down on us brings comfort.
Love you Pop...

What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful man.  So sorry for your loss.  He truly will be missed.  God bless you all!

Larry and I are shocked and terribly saddened by the passing of Papa.  He was a dear and generous man, beloved by his own family, but also by the people who came through the restaurant doors and turned into friends, and even more, part of his family.  We were blessed to be among them.  We will remember him sitting at the table beside the door, greeting and conversing with guests, every now and then disappearing into the kitchen to stir the sauce or fix a pizza.  Would that there were more like him in the world!  
He was a  magnificent ,  loving fathers,  who raised a family of  magnificent, loving children, a cherished , completely devoted husband, and a man of fine character  who made the American Dream a reality but never forgot his roots in Sicily.  A man who worked with his hands his entire life, but even more, with his heart. 
This is an unthinkable time, but consolation lies in the fact that he leaves with no unfinished business, no regrets,.  He got it right the first time.  He was his best every day of his life, unstinting in love and devotion.  He was a builder from the get-go, first in construction, then in building an incredible family, and then a unique ristorante that is a “little piece of Sicily,” in the heart of Euclid.  May his life itself, and the sorrow felt today by those lucky enough to know him , be the witness to what a great and exemplary man he was.  You will think of him each day, at many moments, and in that way he will stay with you forever.  He will spend eternity at home in your hearts.  So terribly sorry for your loss.  Christina

OBITUARY

Francesco Catena

August 17, 1933 – March 9, 2021

DiCicco & Sons Funeral Home

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