Francesco D'Agostino

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francesco d'agostino

Francesco D'Agostino

March 24, 1936 ~ September 7, 2009

francesco d'agostino

March 24, 1936 ~ September 7, 2009

Name: Francesco D'Agostino Life Dates: 3/24/1936 - 9/7/2009 City Of Birth: Terramo,Abruzzi, Italy History He is survived by his beloved wife, Luisa D'Agostino; children, Gina (Tom) Rovisa, Jose Luis D'Agostino, Mariela (Ron) Ort, Frank (Lisa) D'Agostino, Sandra D'Agostino, Carmen (Dwaine) Ricklefs; grandchildren, Nicholas, Daniela, Alicia, Brian, Julia, Kevin, Eric, Adriana; brother, Michael D'Agostino; several nieces nephews. Donations In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rochester General Hospital Foundation C/O the Heart Institute, 1299 Portland Ave. Rochester, NY 14621 in Francesco's Memory. Services BARTOLOMEO PEROTTO Funeral Home, Inc. 1411 Vintage Lane (between 390 Long Pond Rd.) where Francesco's Visitation will be on Thursday from 4-8 PM. All are invited to attend Francesco's Funeral Mass on Friday at 9:30 AM at St. John the Evangelist Church (2400 Ridge Rd. W.) Interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Additional Information Francesco D'Agostino, better known as Papi, was born in 1936 in the Province of Teramo, which is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Papi lived there for 16 years until his mother and father, Adelina and Giuseppe, decided to move the family to Santiago, Chile for agricultural purposes. Along with Papi, came sister Santina and brothers Cesar and Miguel. You could say it was the first family road-trip. Papi lived in Santiago for four years until he met the love of his life, my wonderful grandmother, Luisa Saavedra, whom he later married in 1956. The next 13 years would prove to be busy ones because in that span of time, Luisa gave birth to six beautiful children. The first-born was Gina, followed by Jose (Pepe), then Mariela, Frank, Sandra, and Carmen. Papi was proud. In 1964, Papi's eldest brother, Cesar, ventured to Rochester, New York in search of a better life. Years passed and my Tio (Uncle) Cesar started a restaurant called Don Quixote's, which many of you may remember. By 1976, Cesar had done well enough in America, that Papi decided to give it a go, by himself first. The rest of the D'Agostino crew followed only a few short months later. The second family road-trip had taken place. Upon their arrival in Rochester, Papi went to work at Don Quixote's while the rest of the family settled in and got acclimated. Days were filled with long hours and hard work, but Papi, the fearless leader, always kept the family strong and together. Adversities such as the language barrier (none of them spoke a drop of English upon arrival) and adjusting to cultural differences were difficult, but they overcame them...together. If you had visited the house on Sunset Street at any point, you would be hard-pressed to escape without eating or taking a guided tour of Papi's beloved garden. Papi was always proud of his garden. More time passed, and the first grandchild arrived. Papi's eyes lit up-he was in love. From the moment I left the hospital, I was attached to Papi. Anywhere Papi would walk, I was held proudly in his arms, similar to a champion displaying his trophy. A year and a half later it was time for Papi and the rest of the family to open up their arms and hearts again, my cousin Daniela was on the way. It's fitting that Daniela was very small at birth, because she became Papi's little angel. There was more than enough love in his heart for two wonderful grandchildren and he was on cloud nine. There were two trophies now. Once again, everywhere he walked, Daniela and I were held proudly. Due to the fact that Daniela lived with Papi, they developed a very special bond together, one that has stood the test of time. If each grandchild was a universe in Papi's eyes, Daniela was the sun. Ten months later, a blond and beautiful baby girl was born in Texas and came to live in Rochester, and Papi couldn't be happier. Alicia was her name Papi put his arms around her and life was good. Less than 2 years later, Brian was born. By now, I was a young child and Daniela and Alicia were no longer the babies. Brian was the youngest of us four now and got special attention by Papi. Whenever the four of us would play, Papi always made sure to keep his eye on Brian, his special little guy. Four years passed, and two special gifts arrived right around Christmas time, Julia in December and Kevin in January. It was a joyous occasion and they were two of the most beautiful babies that I have ever seen. Once again, just as a new year brings new hopes, Papi was re-energized. He had two more babies to hold and show off to the world. Julia was his little princess, so calm and so loving. He was and always has been incredibly proud of her. Kevin was immediately drawn to Papi's warmth. He became Papi's favorite thing in the world and the feeling was, undoubtedly, mutual. Pictures of Papi holding Kevin are proof enough; they were enthralled with each other-what a beautiful sight! Yet again, less than two years later, another boy enters the D'Agostino Empire. Eric was born and I was almost 11 years old. I remember Eric being a bit of difficult baby, but always seeming at ease around Papi, as most of us were. Papi babysat him everyday and always made him happy. Most recently, Adriana entered this world with a new generation of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to welcome her in. I was 19 when she was born and I cannot explain the joy everyone felt. It had been eight years since Eric was born and we were all growing up rapidly. The look on Papi's face said it all, he was much older, but it didn't matter once he laid eyes on Adriana. For that moment, it was as if it was 1986 again and he was welcoming me into the world. Adriana loved him strongly for three great years. I left out all of the health problems that Papi encountered along the way; Diabetes, Heart Disease, high cholesterol, Cancer, you name it... The reason I left these out is because I did not want them to define him throughout this Bio. He was a very sick man but he never let it show. He never let his illnesses keep him from being the man that he was and this bio is about highlighting that man, not his illnesses. But on Monday, September 7th, Papi left us. His heart finally failed him for the last time. We all felt that it was sudden, even though we had been preparing for it for quite some time. I went to bed on Sunday night not feeling an ounce of worry, and woke up to the unthinkable. The man that had been the rock of not only myself, but of the entire family had died. I was destroyed. My name is Nick Rovisa, Papi's eldest grandchild, and I wrote this (brief) Bio. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed living it. I am no longer destroyed by what has happened, but am proud. I am proud that I was able to have this beautiful man in my life for 22 years and I am proud of the legacy he has left. I know he is not far from me and when I close my eyes; I see him there with me, smiling at me, tapping me on the back, calling me "buddy", and kissing me on the cheek. As I have said to him every time I left him since I can remember, "Ciao Pa" for the last time.

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