Part 1
Nocera Inferiore
Part 2
Castellammare di Stabia
Part 3 - Brooklyn
Frank & Elizabeth
Lanzara Ancestral Chart
Giuseppe
Francesco
Cemeteries
Causes of Death
Photos
Documents
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STARITA/CUCURULLO FAMILY HISTORY
Although we are not absolutely certain, it is possible that Giovanni Cucurullo was born in the Naples neighborhood of San Giuseppe on March 24, 1849, and that his parents were Raffaele Cucurullo and Giulia Vitale. Giovanni appears to have arrived in America around 1885. His naturalization papers show he became an American citizen on October 16, 1891. An immigrant at that time had to have lived in America at least five years before becoming naturalized. Although there is no physical documentation that shows when or where it happened, Giovanni married Concetta Maria Maresca. Most likely this was in New York around 1891 (their first child was born in Brooklyn in 1893). At the time of the marriage, Concetta would have been around 21 years of age. Giovanni was 20 years older than her. It is possible that he was married before in Italy.
According to Ken Falzarano, Concetta was born on December 8, 1869 in Carreto, Cardito, or Corato, Italy, the daughter of Antonio Maresca and Cherubina "Kate" Cannavale. The spelling on the certificate of Concetta's second marriage, to Salvatore Starita in 1895, is "Carroto" Italy. While there is no town in Italy named "Carroto", Ken believes it is possibly "Carretto", near Genoa in the province of Savona, or "Cardito" in the province of Campania, or "Corato" in the province of Puglia. While Carretto is several hundred miles from Naples, Cardito is about 10 miles north, while Corato is 150 miles east on the Adriatic coast.
Giovanni and Concetta had two children born in New York. The first was Peppina Cucurullo, born in Brooklyn on January 20, 1893. Although she was later named "Maria Giuseppa Cucurullo", the family called her "Josephine". Shortly before Josephine's second birthday, her father Giovanni developed a kidney infection a few days before Thanksgiving. He entered Saint Mary's Hospital for treatment. A week later he suddenly hemorrhaged and died on December 3, 1894. He was only 45 years old. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Josephine's mother Concetta was a young widow with a baby girl to raise. She was also pregnant. On April 8, 1895, Concetta gave birth to a boy. She named him John Cuccurullo, after his father. Two weeks later, on April 21, 1895, Concetta married Salvatore "Sal" Starita, who worked as a ship's carpenter at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
According to Ken Falzarano, Sal and other various Starita family members came from the Italian towns of Meta, Piano di Sorrento, and Sorrento, all fairly close to each other across the bay from Naples. Sal was born in Meta on July 21, 1857, the son of Giuseppe Starita and A. Maria Lauro. Concetta appears to have had an attraction for older men. While Giovanni was 20 years older than her, Sal was only 12 years older.
When Sal married Concetta, he was a widower with a son named Frank Starita and a daughter named Annie Starita. Sal adopted Josephine and John. Then together he and Concetta had another five Starita children. All nine children were basically raised together by Sal and Concetta and remained close.
Some documents show the Starita surname as Astarita. Either this is the original spelling in Italy and later shortened to Starita, or something else. This is total conjecture. Suppose a person filling out a document for Sal asks him what his last name is. Responding in his Italian accent, Sal may have replied "Aah! Starita", and the person says "OK. Astarita." Maybe?
Sal Starita's first wife was Rosina Theresa Gargiullo. They were possibly married in Italy around 1886, but more likely married in New York. They were living at 20 Union Street in Brooklyn when their son, Francesco "Frank" Starita, was born on February 2, 1888. He dropped out of school after the sixth grade. He was working as a press feeder for the Schoen Printing Company when he married Carmela M. Colandrea in 1909. They lived at 105 DeGraw Street (a building that was torn down by 1940) before moving a few blocks away to 113 Summit Street in Brooklyn. Frank stood nearly 5' 8" tall and weighed about 190 pounds. He had reddish-brown hair, brown eyes and a ruddy complexion.
Carmela was born in the Monte di Procida neighborhood of Naples, Italy on February 6, 1890. Her parents were Vincenzo Colandrea and Maria Michele Di Appollonia. Carmela was 5' 2", with brown hair and eyes and a natural complexion. She had four years of schooling in Italy before arriving in New York in 1901.
Frank and Carmela had three sons. Their first was Salvatore A. Starita, born in Brooklyn on September 15, 1911. Then came James Vincenzo Starita on February 12, 1912, and Frederick "Fred" Starita on March 2, 1913. Between 1920 and 1930, Frank decided he wanted to become a farmer and moved the family to a farm in Newburgh, New York, in Orange County. The farm was about 75 miles north of Brooklyn, on the western coast of the Hudson River. Although details are somewhat sketchy, it appears that Frank continued working for the printing company in Brooklyn while Carmela and her sons ran the farm.
Ken Falzarano, however, says Frank was a horse jockey who worked at the Belmont racetrack and stables and later owned a farm near the Saratoga racetrack in upstate New York. Saratoga is more than a hundred miles north of Newburgh, while Belmont Racetrack is located many miles east of Brooklyn on Long Island.
By 1935, Frank was living in a rooming house in Manhattan while still working for a printing company. Eventually, he and Carmela formally separated, but there is no evidence of a divorce. In 1943, he was up in Albany working as a "press feeder" or "pressman" for the Williams Press Company. Frank died on April 13, 1965 in the mountain town of Awostin, in Ulster County, New York, not far from Newburgh. He was 77 years old. He was buried in a mausoleum at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newburgh.
Carmela was 87 years old when she died in January of 1978. She was also interred in a mausoleum at Cedar Hill Cemetery, but not with Frank.
While still living on the farm in Newburgh, Salvatore was working as a telegraph operator for a telegraph company. He was 5' 10" tall, weighed 170 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. Salvatore never married. He was about 70 years old when he died in 1981. Like his parents, he was buried in a mausoleum at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Salvatore's brother James dropped out of school after the seventh grade and eventually became a "gauge man" for an underground water project. Like his brother Salvatore, he never married. He stood 5' 11" tall, weighing about 175 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a ruddy complexion. Pretty much just like his brother Salvatore. He continued working the farm with his mother. James was 93 years old and living in nearby Wallkill, New York when he died on November 8, 2005. He was interred next to his mother at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
In 1940, Fred worked as a miner for the same underground water project as James. He didn't look anything like his brothers. He had blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. He was nearly 5' 7" tall and weighed 170 pounds. And, unlike his brothers, he married, to a woman named Mae, on October 27, 1941. Mae was born in New York on July 2, 1911. She was two years older than Fred. They lived in an apartment above a restaurant at 1102 Western Avenue in Albany, New York. Fred worked in Albany as a welder for General Electric. The restaurant they lived above was O'Connor's State Street Restaurant and Mae worked there as a waitress. Mae had a son from a previous marriage named Reuben. Fred and Mae had two daughters together, named Gladys Starita and Gertrude Starita.
Mae was 69 years old when she died in November of 1980. Fred died in 1988 when he was about 74. Like the rest of the family, they were interred in a mausoleum at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Sal and Rosina were living at 68 Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn when their second child was born there on February 20, 1890. Her name was Teresa Starita. Since her birth certificate is the only document that has been found about her, we must assume she died before 1900, but we have no record to prove that.
Now the story becomes somewhat confusing. After giving birth to Frank and Teresa, Rosina was pregnant with their third child when she appears to have gone back to Italy for reasons unknown. While still in Italy, she gave birth to Anna M. Starita. Anna, who was known as Annie, was born in Meta, Italy on July 7, 1891. There is further evidence that Rosina died in Italy in 1891, whether from childbirth or later is unknown.
It is possible that the Cucurullo's and the Starita's knew one another as they lived in the same area of Brooklyn. In fact, it appears that Concetta Cucurullo went to Italy and brought Annie back to her father in 1892. When John Cucurullo died in 1894, Concetta was pregnant with their second child. Shortly after the birth of that child, Concetta married the widowed Sal Starita. Sal adopted Concetta's two children and they went on to have five more children.
Annie dropped out of school after the sixth grade. She was an embroidery specialist for a clothing factory when she married Antonio Oropello on June 27, 1912 at The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church, located at 500 Hicks Street in Brooklyn. The church was also the marriage venue for several members of the Lanzaro and LaMura families.
Antonio, or Anthony, was born March 25, 1888 in the San Nicola la Strada neighborhood of Caserta, a town about 20 miles north of Naples. His parents were Giuseppe Oropello and Angela Capasso. Anthony was tall and slender, with brown hair and eyes.
Annie and Anthony had nine children. Over the years, they moved from one place to another in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn before finally ending up at 126 Fourth Place. Their first child was a daughter named (1) Angiola Oropello. She was born on the Fourth of July in 1913. Sadly, she lived less than nine months before developing broncho-pneumonia and dying on March 14, 1914 from cerebral convulsions. She was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.
Annie and Anthony's second child was (2) Giuseppe "Joseph" Oropello, born in Brooklyn on September 4, 1914, six months after the death of Angiola. Joseph dropped out after the sixth grade and eventually became an auto mechanic. He was 5' 9" tall, weighed about 185 pounds, with black hair, blue eyes and a sallow complexion. Sometime in 1938, Joseph married Josephine Spagnola in Brooklyn. Josephine was born in Brooklyn on May 20, 1918. Her parents were John Spagnola and Maria Boenzi.
Joseph and Josephine lived at 253 Smith Street in Brooklyn, then a few blocks away in a third floor apartment at 369 Union Street. This was in the Carroll Hill section of Brooklyn, between Red Hook and Cobble Hill. By 1950, Joseph was working as a longshoreman (stevedore, dockworker) at the nearby piers in Red Hook. He and Josephine do not appear to have had children.
Joseph was 78 years old when he died on November 7, 1992. He was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale on Long Island. Several years later, Josephine died the day after Christmas on December 26, 1998. She was 80 years old. She was buried with Joseph at Saint Charles Cemetery.
On June 6, 1917, Annie and Anthony's third child, (3) Salvatore Oropello was born in Brooklyn. After completing eighth grade in school, Salvatore found work at the docks and became a crew member on the steam ship "Skagway Victory" and sailed all the round the world. He was 5' 9" tall, weighed 150 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and a light complexion.
Occasionally Salvatore would come home. In August of 1941, he was arrested for speeding on a motorcycle and eluding arrest. During the chase by a motorcycle cop, Salvatore was clocked at 100 miles an hour. He escaped temporarily but was arrested later at his home at 126 Fourth Place. He lost his license and was fined $10.
Salvatore returned to sea but eventually came back to Brooklyn. In October of 1946, he was arrested for stealing a motorcycle. Here is the news article with a photo of Salvatore.
Salvatore was eventually found guilty and sent to the Shawangunk Penal Institution, a hundred miles north of Brooklyn. There is some evidence that he married Theresa Margaret Cantelmi, perhaps around 1973. Theresa was born in New York on August 18, 1923, the daughter of Michael and Margaret Cantelmi. In any event, Theresa died on April 6, 1991 when she was 67 years old. She was buried with her parents at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. Salvatore was living in Far Rockaway, Queens when he died a few days before Christmas on December 21, 1998. He was 80 years old.
(4) Nicoleno Oropello was born in Brooklyn on December 7, 1919. This was Annie and Anthony's fourth child. They called him Nick. Like his brother Salvatore, he completed eighth grade and went on to become a stevedore aboard a ship. He stood 5' 7" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and a light complexion. He served his country during World War II in the U. S. Army.
Nick married Amelia Alice Linares, the daughter of Spanish immigrants Joseph Linares and Maria Vieites. Amelia was born in Brooklyn on May 28, 1921. She was employed by a department store to interview customers opening charge accounts. She and Nick do not appear to have had children.
They were living in Okeechobee, Florida when Nick died at the age of 70 on October 29, 1990. His body was transported to New York for burial. This was five months after the death of his sister Connie. Several months later, Amelia died in Monroe, New Jersey on May 8, 1991. She was 69 years old.
The next two children born to Annie and Anthony were twins (5) Alexander Oropello and (6) Michael Oropello. They were born April 26, 1921 in Brooklyn. Tragically, they lived only ten months. Alexander died on March 11, 1922 and Michael a week later on March 18, 1921. The cause of death for both was lobular pneumonia. They were buried together at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
When they buried their twin babies, Annie was seven months pregnant. She gave birth to their seventh child on May 5, 1922. This was (7) Concetta "Connie" Oropello. In 1950, Connie was living with her widowed mother and her brother John at 126 Fourth Place in Brooklyn and working as a machine operator at a lingerie factory. Nothing more is known about her except that she died on May 18, 1990 at the age of 68. As we will learn later, she was buried with her parents at Saint John Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens.
Child number eight was (8) Frank Joseph Oropello, born in Brooklyn on November 12, 1924. Frank served in the 2nd Battalion Army Rangers during World War II. He and his battalion landed at Pointe du Hoc on the northwest shore of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Frank was awarded a purple heart for injuries he received during the war, plus the bronze star for heroic service in a combat zone. He was 5' 10" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a light complexion.
Frank was discharged from the Army in December of 1945. Sometime after, he married Oklee Henry in Tennessee. Oklee was born in Green, Tennessee on April 14, 1926, the daughter of William C. Henry and Adeline Painter. Oklee and Frank had two children.
The first was William Anthony "Tony" Oropello, born in Chuckey, Tennessee on May 12, 1949. Tony was a member of the Barksdale Theater Group in Virginia. On August 19, 1972, he married Danita Louise Brown at the Christian Church in Ashland, Virginia. Danita was born in North Carolina on October 22, 1953. Her parents were James Thomas Brown and Jean Marie Matthias. Tony and Danita lived in Richmond, Virginia and had two sons. After 19 years of marriage, they separated in 1991 and a divorce was granted on March 15, 1993. Tony was living in Ashland when he died on November 3, 2011 at the age of 62.
Frank and Oklee's second child was Linda Mae Oropello, born in Brooklyn on January 22, 1953. She married Roger Glenn Lambert in Richmond on August 17, 1972. Roger, the son of Gratten A. Lambert and Laura V. Truslow, was born in Bedford, Virginia on July 15, 1953. They had a daughter. The marriage lasted eight years before they separated and were divorced on June 22, 1982. Linda died in Chesterfield, Virginia on December 29, 2007. She was only 54 years old.
Oklee was 77 years old when she died in Ashland on February 9, 2004. Four years later, on July 26, 2008, Frank died. He and Aklee are buried together at Signal Hill Memorial Park in Hanover, Virginia.
Lastly, Annie and Anthony's child number 9 was (9) John F. Oropello, born in Brooklyn on January 29, 1928. After turning 18 in 1946, he enlisted in the Army. At the time he was 5' 8" tall and weighed 130 pounds. He had black hair, brown eyes and a light complexion.
It should be noted that his brother Salvatore was arrested in October of 1946 for stealing a motorcycle. In 1950, John was living with his widowed mother and sister Concetta at 126 Fourth Place. He was a repairman for a local television store. He lived for a time in Ashland, Virginia. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
For many years, Anthony was afflicted with a disease called Echinococcus, caused by a tapeworm that infested his liver and spleen. The tapeworm is a parasite that enters a host, which is usually an animal, such as a dog, sheep, or goat. The worm lives in the bowels of the animal and releases its eggs into the animal’s feces. A human is most likely to contract the tapeworm when food is eaten that has been contaminated with animal feces. While we have no way to know for sure how Anthony came to have a tapeworm inside his body, he endured the painful condition for many years before developing an infection in his spleen and liver in April of 1934. He was admitted to the Long Island College Hospital for surgery but died there on August 27, 1934. He was only 46 years old. He was buried at Saint John's Cemetery in Queens.
When Anthony died, Annie became a widow at the age of 43. The children ranged in age from six to twenty. As each of them reached employment age, they supported their mother until her death on December 6, 1968. She was 77 years old and buried with Anthony at Saint John's Cemetery. In 1990, their daughter Connie would join them.
As we stated in the beginning of this narrative, Concetta had two children with Giovanni Cucurullo before marrying Sal Starita. Josephine was born Pepina Cuccurullo in Brooklyn on January 27, 1893, but the family called her Josephine.
Josephine was almost two years old when her father Giovanni died on December 3, 1894. Josephine's mother Concetta was now a young widow with a baby girl to raise. She was also pregnant. On April 8, 1895, Concetta gave birth to a boy. She named him John Cuccurullo after his father. Two weeks later, she married Salvatore Starita on April 21, 1895.
Josephine was 20 years old when she married 30-year-old John Lanzaro on July 27, 1913. The marriage took place at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church. John was born Giovanni Lanzaro in Castellammare di Stabia in Italy on August 31, 1882, the son of Francesco "Frank" Lanzara and Elisabetta "Elizabeth" Bonifacio. John arrived in America with his parents and sister Grace in October of 1887. On March 21, 1907, he submitted his Declaration of Intention to become an American citizen. He was 24 years old and gave his occupation as "Dealer in Photographs." He had a dark complexion, stood 5 feet 5 inches, and weighed 135 pounds. He had black hair and brown eyes. By September 2, 1909, he had submitted his Petition for Naturalization and granted full citizenship on March 17, 1910.
For a while, John and Josephine lived with John's mother Elizabeth, his brother Jim, and sister Anna and her husband Vito Desiano at 183 Sackett Street. It was around this time that John started his own music supply business out of the apartment. Sometime later, possibly 1921, John and Jim opened their own music and record shop called the Neapolitan Talking Machine, located at 311 Court Street in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of South Brooklyn. John and Josephine lived above the store.
By 1930, they had moved to 920 Homecrest Court, down in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. In 1935, Jim retired from the business and left John in full ownership. By this time, John and Josephine were living at 580 Eighteenth Street in Brooklyn, several miles from their previous home. Sometime later, John worked as a real estate broker.
John and Josephine had 4 children. To learn more about them, click on "Frank & Elizabeth" in the panel on the left.
Josephine and John were living at 1129 40th Street in Brooklyn when she entered Unity Hospital for an operation for a fibroid Uterus. She died at the hospital one week later, on April 5, 1943. She was only 50 years old. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn in the same family plot as John's mother Elizabeth who died two years before in 1941.
Sometime later, John married Bertha Farber. Bertha was born October 24, 1895 in Lehe, Germany. Her parents were Wilhelm Farber and Johanna Duser. She was 5'5" tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She arrived in America in June of 1923 and worked for several years as a maid for the Solowey family in Brooklyn. John and Bertha were living together at 40 Caton Place in Brooklyn when he died there on February 7, 1955 at the age of 72. He was buried with Josephine at Holy Cross. Sometime around 1959, Bertha moved to Corona, Queens. Ten years later, in 1969, she moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut to live with her niece, Ann Perrotta, at 29 Atwater Street. Bertha died there on November 2, 1970, one week after her 75th birthday. She was buried at Saint Michael's Cemetery in Stratford, Connecticut.
On June 18, 1895, Giovanno Cucurullo was born in Brooklyn, seven months after the death of his father. Better known as John, he lived with his mother Concetta and her second husband Sal Starita at 172 DeGraw Street in Brooklyn. He was working as a ships carpenter. He resisted being drafted during World War I by stating he had to work to support his mother and step-father. Actually, he and his step-father Sal owned a cabinet and carpenter's business on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn.
John was 27 years old when he married Assunta "Susan" Lauro on February 8, 1923, at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church. Susan was born on Manhattan on May 24, 1893. She was 30 years old at the time of the marriage, and it was the first for both of them. Her parents were Boitano Lauro and Henrietta Russo. Susan had been living with her family at 210 DeGraw Street, just one block from 172 DeGraw Street.
John had black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. He stood 5' 4" tall and weighed about 145 pounds. He also had a noticeable circular scar on his left cheek caused by an accident with acid. Susan worked as a stenographer for a physician. John continued working as a carpenter. By 1930, after Susan's father died, they moved back to the apartment at 210 DeGraw Street where her mother and three siblings lived. At this time, they had two small children of their own. Very little information can be found about the children except that Concetta Rose Cucurullo was born November 14, 1923 and her brother John Paul Cucurullo almost exactly four years later on November 4, 1927.
By 1940, John was no longer living with Susan and the children. The family appears to be supported by Susan's two sisters and brother, all of whom were in their thirties, fully employed, and unmarried. No census record can be found of John on the 1940 census.
On the 1950 Federal Census, Susan's mother has passed and she is still living with her brother Victor and sister Helen, both of whom are in their forties, fully employed and never been married. Susan is now listed as separated from her marriage. 26-year-old Concetta Rose works as a secretary for an import-export company, while 22-year-old John Paul is unemployed. John the father now turns up living alone at 2370 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. This is where his parents Sal and Concetta lived until their deaths in 1945. John is working as a cabinet maker and lists his marital status on the census as single. Nothing more has been found about Concetta Rose or John Paul.
While we have no evidence whether John and Susan got back together, she died in June of 1976 at the age of 83, and John in January of 1980 when he was 84. Ironically, they are both buried in the same plot at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale on Long Island.
So, to recap: Sal Starita and Rosina Gargiullo had three children before Rosina died in Italy in 1891. The children were Frank, Teresa and Annie Starita. Meanwhile, John Cucurullo and Concetta Maresca had two children, namely Josephine and John Cucurullo. John the father died before John the son was born. Shortly after John the son was born, Concetta married Sal and we now continue with the rest of the Starita clan.
The first child born to Sal and Concetta was Cherubina Astarita. She eventually became known as Catherine or Katie, and the family name became Starita. Catherine was born in Brooklyn on November 27, 1896. She went no further in school than the eighth grade and found work as a clerk in an embroidery shop. On February 11, 1920 she married Frank DeWitt Banta, Jr. Frank was born in Brooklyn on March 14, 1895, the son of Frank DeWitt Banta Sr. and Jessie Chappel. He was a veteran of World War I, serving as a Sergeant with Company E of the 106th Infantry, 27 Division. The marriage again took place at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church, located at 500 Hicks Street in Brooklyn, the site of the marriages of the other family members.
Frank was a salesman for a furniture store. Like Catherine, he never went beyond the eighth grade. He was 5' 9" tall and weighed about 145 pounds. He had brown hair, gray eyes and a light complexion. Sometime later, Frank worked for the U. S. Post Office. They did not live long in any one place in Brooklyn, but managed to have two children. Frank Salvatore Banta was born in Brooklyn the day before Thanksgiving on November 24, 1920. His sister Catherine Marie Banta was born in Brooklyn on June 5, 1925. By 1930, they were living at 2088 East 7th Street in Brooklyn. Living with them were Catherine's brothers Anthony Starita and John Cucurullo.
By 1950, Frank and Catherine separated. He was still working for the post office and living alone at 166 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, while Catherine was living at 9031 76th Street in Queens with her brother Frank Starita who was separated from his wife Carmela. Catherine worked as a finisher for a cloak and garment company. As we will soon learn, Frank and Catherine's son Frank was serving in the Air Force and daughter Catherine was married and living in North Carolina.
After Frank Salvatore Banta graduated from high school, he worked in a factory for a few years before enlisting in the U. S. Air Force on February 21, 1942. He served for four years before his honorable discharge on March 30, 1946. Two years later, he reenlisted with the Air Force and became a career officer. He was 5' 9" tall, weighed about 155 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a ruddy complexion. He also had a noticeable birth mark over his left eye.
On January 18, 1955, at the age of 34, Frank married 38-year-old Evelyn Maxine Churchill at the Methodist Church in Pawling, New York. Evelyn had been born in Burlington, Vermont on July 30, 1916. Her parents were a druggist named George A. Churchill and Lucille Tobey. Evelyn was a graduate of the University of Vermont and the New York Polyclinic Hospital and Medical School with a degree in Dietetics. She was a veteran of the U. S. Army and Air Force Dietetic Corps during World War II and currently held the rank of Captain. At the time of the marriage, Frank held the rank of Major. They were both stationed at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, New York.
The marriage lasted less than three years before Frank divorced Evelyn, accusing her of "Intolerable Indignities."
While still serving in the Air Force, Frank was in charge of a military prison with custody of some 250 prisoners and a staff of 25 men. He retired from the Air Force in 1964 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and moved to Wyoming. In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Laramie County but lost to the incumbent. In August of 1974, Frank married a truly remarkable woman named Miriam Celeste Beckmann, who was known as Mimi. Her parents were Reverend John Beckmann and Helen Zeilinger. Mimi was born in the parsonage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Albion, Nebraska on April 14, 1939. She was 18 years younger than Frank. She was baptized by her father and later confirmed by him in 1953.
In June of 1961, Mimi graduated from Colorado State College of Education in Greeley, Colorado, with a B.A. in education. She majored in English and minored in French and library science. She was active in the Lutheran Student Association and Human Rights Association on campus. She did graduate work at University of Wyoming, University of Northern Colorado-Greeley and University of Denver. She also did graduate work at universities of Missouri-Kansas City, Wisconsin State-River Falls and Oshkosh, Utah-Salt Lake City.
Mimi taught English at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and at Sturgeon Bay High School in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She worked for the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (C.E.S.A. No. 9) in developmental and remedial reading in four elementary schools in the Appleton, Wisconsin, area as part of the innovative Title Ill project with a Diagnostic Mobile Lab unit. In August of 1970, she was hired as a reading/language arts coordinator for the Cheyenne school district.
After she and Frank married in 1974, Mimi joined the faculty at Central High as an English/reading teacher and continued teaching until her retirement in June 1998. She and Frank enjoyed an active recreational life. Golfing and skiing were favorite interests. They were community-oriented people.
On April 13, 1984, Frank died in Clark, Nevada at the age of 63. He was buried at Beth El Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He does not appear to have had any children with either Evelyn or Mimi.
After Frank died, Mimi completed her 34 years of teaching in which 27 were at LCSD1. She was a member of CTEA, WEA, and NEA and Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary sorority for women educators. She served as courtesy chairperson, calling committee chairperson, scholarship committee assistant and producing the association directory for Laramie County Retired Educators Association. She was an active member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. She served on the Fellowship Committee, participated in CIHN, Naomi Circle and coordinated programs for Fifty Plus. She enjoyed travel, concerts, the Cheyenne Symphony, Broadway shows, bowling and many holiday celebrations with her family and friends. She also played the piano and clarinet.
Mimi's extraordinary life ended on April 14, 2017 when she was 78 years old. She was buried next to Frank at Beth El Cemetery. To view several early photos of Mimi, click here
Frank's first wife Evelyn Churchill married for a second time to Terence Myles Nolan in the Pilgrims' Chapel of the Country Club Congregational Church in Kansas City, Missouri on September 8, 1961. Terence was born in Buffalo, New York on May 17, 1917, the son of Leo Myles Nolan and Mae Margaret Welzel. Terence had a first marriage with Margaret "Peggy" Lee Woodson which produced two children before the couple ended in divorce.
Terence was an aeronautical engineer for Bell Aircraft in Buffalo and later he was president of the Benson Manufacturing Company in Kansas City. He was tall and lanky, standing 6' tall and weighing about 150 pounds. He had brown hair, gray eyes and a light complexion. To view several photos of Evelyn and Terence, click here
Evelyn and Terence retired to Naples Florida. They were active members of the United Methodist Church, the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club, and Collier's Reserve Country Club. Terence was 66 years old when he died in Collier on July 18, 1983. Per his request, he was cremated and had his ashes scattered over the Gulf of Mexico. Many years later, Evelyn was still living in Naples when she died there on the 21st anniversary of Terence's death, on July 18, 2004. Her wishes were to have no formal service and to have her ashes join Terence's in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted on Ancestry.com
by Ken Falzarano
Catherine and Frank's second child was Catherine Marie Banta. She was born in Brooklyn on June 5, 1925. She married Harry David Whalen, Jr. the day after Thanksgiving on November 29, 1946. Harry was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 9, 1922. His parents were Harry David Whalen, Sr. and Mary Esta Esler. He was 5' 6" tall, weighed about 155 pounds, with blonde hair, gray eyes and a light complexion. He also had burn scars on both wrists from an early age.
Three years before he married Catherine, Harry enlisted in the U. S. Army on February 3, 1943. He was a member of the special forces, Green Berets, and served in the Army for more than 30 years. His service included World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He would go on to earn many military awards, including the Silver Star for Valor, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart Second Award, Air Medal 5th Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal Second Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal 5th Award, and Armed Forces Expedition. He retired from the Army on January 31, 1974 with the rank of Sergeant Major.
Catherine and Harry lived for a while in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They had two children, a daughter born in 1954 and a son in 1956. A few years later, the marriage appears to have ended in divorce and Harry moved to Biloxi, Mississippi.
Harry was a tough, no-nonsense type of guy. In 1978, the United States gave up it's 75-year ownership of the land surrounding the Panama Canal. Panamanian General Omar Torrijos, who had seized control of Panama in a coup against the democratically elected president, threatened to instigate violent attacks against U. S. citizens living around the canal. Harry wrote to the Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi to express his opinion on the topic: ""I think it was a giveaway," said Harry D. Whalen, Biloxi, a 30-year Army veteran. Of Gen. Omar Torrijos' threat of violence had the treaty been rejected, Whalen commented, "I would have kicked his (expletive deleted)."."
Harry entered into a second marriage with Bobbie Rogers. Catherine also appears to have remarried, to someone named Lepeer. Harry died in Biloxi on May 14, 1993. He was 70 years old. He was buried at the Biloxi National Cemetery with full military honors. Catherine was living in Stuart, Florida when she died on April 9, 2004. She was 78 years old.
Frank DeWitt Banta, the father of Frank Salvatore and Catherine Marie, died in New York on April 12, 1959 at the age of 64. He was buried at the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York. While he and his wife Catherine were living separately in 1950, they appear to have reunited at some time. Catherine was 85 years old when she died on February 23, 1982 and buried next to Frank at Long Island Cemetery. Her grave marker has the inscription "His Wife."
The second child born to Sal and Concetta was Maria Michele Astarita. She eventually became known as Margaret or Maggie, and as we have noted before, the family name became Starita. Maggie was born in Brooklyn on June 6, 1898. She went as far in school as the eighth grade. On November 30, 1919 she married a barber named Rosalbino G. Bartoletti. Of course, the marriage took place at the family favorite Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church.
Rosalbino was born in Altilia, Italy on October 25, 1889, the son of Gaetano Bartoletti and Rosa Silvagni. Altilia is a small town in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was in Italy that Rosalbino received his two years of formal education. He was about 17 years old when he emigrated from Italy in 1907 and settled in Brooklyn.
Maggie and Rosalbino rented a small apartment located at 4511 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. For a while Rosalbino would sometimes use the name Ralph and then Joseph instead of Rosalbino. We will continue to refer to him as Rosalbino.
By 1930, Rosalbino had made enough money working as a barber to buy a house valued at $7000 in the Mill Basin section of south Brooklyn at 1861 East 53rd Street. At the time, they had two small children and Maggie also worked as a dressmake in a factory. Living with them were Sal and Concetta.
Rosalbino was a relatively small man. He was 5' 2" tall and weighed around 115 pounds. He had black hair, brown eyes and a light complexion. For whatever reason, Rosalbino left the house he presumably owned and moved the family to a rented apartment at 121 Third Street in Brooklyn. This was where they were living by 1935. By 1940, the building no longer existed. As it turns out, this was close to the Cobble Hill neighborhood on the waterfront across from Governors Island where many of the Starita and Cucurullo families lived. Sal and Concetta were now living with their unmarried son John Cucurullo all the way in the southern part of Brooklyn at 2370 Coney Island Avenue, a home that John owned.
By 1950, Maggie and Rosalbino had moved to 906 Herkimer Street in Brooklyn. They lived on the first floor while their two children with their spouses and children lived on the second floor.
Maggie and Rosalbino's first child was a son named Joseph George Bartoletti. He was born in Brooklyn on July 26, 1920. He dropped out after the first year of high school and found work as a carpenter. In 1940, he began working as a purchasing Agent for the Westinghouse Corporation in Manhattan. This was interrupted by World War II and he served in the Army from 1941 through the end of the war in 1945. After his discharge from the Army, he resumed his career with Westinghouse.
In 1947, Joseph married Elizabeth C. Burkard. She was born in Brooklyn on October 10, 1928. In 1950, Joseph and Elizabeth were living in an apartment building with Joseph's parents and his married sister. Joseph and Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters. Outside of raising her family, Elizabeth worked as a Special Education Teacher's Assistant in Brooklyn. Some of her interests included painting and gardening.
Joseph worked for Westinghouse for 39 years before retiring in 1980. In 1990, he and Elizabeth moved to Aberdeen, New Jersey, possibly to be near one of their daughters who lived in nearby Holmdel. Joseph was 82 when he died on September 25, 2002. He was buried at Holmdel Cemetery. Several years later, Elizabeth was 82 when she died at home in Aberdeen on July 21, 2011. According to her wishes, she was cremated.
Maggie and Rosalbino's second child was a daughter named Rose Margaret Bartoletti. She was born in Brooklyn on Maggie's 24th birthday, June 6, 1922. Like her brother she dropped out after the first year of high school and found work as a manicurist. She married Rodney R. Young Sr. in 1941. Rodney was born in Brooklyn on February 25, 1919. His parents were Louis Young and Lena Zimmer.
By 1950, Rose and Rodney lived with her parents and brother joseph and they raised two children Rodney R. Young, Jr. and Richard Young. Rodney Sr. was an electric welder at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was 5' 10", weighed 145 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and a light complexion. He had a tattoo on his left arm, which for that time was uncommon. While his sons were still quite young, Rodney enlisted with the Marine Corps and served through the end of World War II as a Corporal.
Two days after Rose's 61st birthday, Rodney died on June 8, 1983. He was 64 years old. He was buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York. Many years later Rose died at the age of 83 on October 10, 2005, ironically her sister-in-law’s 77th birthday.
Maggie was just 59 years old when she died a week before Christmas on December 17, 1957. She was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Long Island. Years later, in April of 1968, Rosalbino died. He was buried next to Maggie at Saint Charles Cemetery.
Sal and Concetta were living at 192 Sackett Street on the waterfront in Cobble Hill across from Governor's Island when their daughter Rosina Elizabeth Starita was born on March 17, 1900. Rosina graduated eighth grade but never attended high school. She was employed as a clerk for the U. S. Post Office when she married Michael James Falzarano. As usual, the marriage took place at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church. The date was October 12, 1924. Michael was born in Airola, Italy on May 8, 1899, the son of Antonio Salvatore Falzarano and Mary Carmela Napolitano. Airola is located 30 miles northeast of Naples.
Shortly after he was born in Italy, Michael's father Tony left him and his mother and went to America and found work as a common laborer for the railroad. He worked and saved for four years before sending for Michael and his mother who arrived in New York around 1902. Michael's parents had three more children in New York, two daughters and another son. In 1910, they were living in the town of Haverstraw in upstate Rockland County, about 50 miles north of Brooklyn. By 1918, they were back in Brooklyn where Michael drove a truck for the Acorn Insulated Wire Company and would eventually become an automobile mechanic.
Michael was 5' 9" tall, weighed about 160 pounds, with dark brown hair, blue-gray eyes and a light complexion. The family moved around quite a bit. For a while they lived with Rosina's sister Maggie, her husband Rosalbino Bartoletti and their two children at 1861 East 53rd Street in Brooklyn. Eventually, they settled at 512 East 49th Street in Brooklyn.
Michael and Rosina's first son was Anthony Joseph Falzarano. He was born in Brooklyn on November 16, 1926. He attended East New York Vocational High School in Brooklyn. When he was 18 years old, he was 5' 8" tall, weighed 145 pounds, with brown hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion. He also wore eyeglasses. In 1952, he married Mary Carmella Paldino, the daughter of Dominic Paldino and Josephine Rinaldi. Mary was born in Brooklyn on the third of July in 1931. They had four sons.
Anthony was a structural design supervisor with the Foster Wheeler Company in Livingston, New Jersey. In 1962, the family moved from Brooklyn to Whippany, New Jersey, just a few miles from Livingston. Mary was a teacher's aide in Hanover Township and worked for five years as a clerk for Nabisco Brands in East Hanover.
Anthony retired from Foster Wheeler in 1985 after working there for more than 40 years. He and Mary died within four months of each other in 1994; she on June 15 and Anthony on October 13; she was 62, he was 67. They were buried together at Holy Rood Cemetery in Morristown, New Jersey.
Michael and Rosina's second son was born in Brooklyn on January 21, 1929. This was Salvatore Falzarano. Sal had a job as a "gear cutter" for a machine part company. He married Mary Madeline Fitzpatrick, the daughter of Vincent J. Fitzpatrick and Bertha M. Leonard who were originally from Newfoundland, Canada. Mary was born in Brooklyn on June 26, 1928. She was working as a stenographer for a steamship company before the marriage. She became a homemaker who loved to garden. She and Sal raised two sons and two daughters.
Sal was 59 years old when he died on October 27, 1988. He was buried Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale on Long Island. In 1995, Mary moved in with one of her daughters who lived in West Windsor, New Jersey. She became a member of Saint David The King Roman Catholic Church in West Windsor. She was 75 years old when she died 15 years after Sal on October 12, 2003. According to her wishes, she chose to be cremated.
Nine years after Sal's birth, Michael and Rosina's third and final son was born. This was Michael "Mickey" Falzarano, Jr.. He was born in Brooklyn on February 4, 1938. He joined the Navy after graduating Erasmus Hall High School, and served four years active sea duty. In 1971, he joined the New York City Police Department and the Human Resources Administration, retiring in 2011 after 40 years. Mickey was an active member the Organization of Staff Analysts of the City of New York. He received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from C. W. Post College in 1976. He also served in the Army National Guard and was honorably discharged after 20 years as Master Sergeant (E-8).
Mickey appears to have been married twice: first to Elaine Klein in 1963; then to Marie (Connis?). He had two sons and a daughter, and a step-son from Marie. He lived in Woodside, Queens before moving to Staten Island in June of 2000.
His family considered Mickey to be a true patriot. He was an avid reader, worked out every day and ran local marathons. They say he was a kind, loving and compassionate man who had a wonderful sense of humor and had a smile that would light up a room. He never held a grudge and was very forgiving.
At some point in his life, Mickey was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). He died due to complications with the disease, ironically on his 81st birthday, February 4, 2019. He was buried with full military honors at Saint Charles Cemetery.
Mickey's parents were living in Franklin Square on Long Island when his mother Rosina died on January 16, 1993. She was 92 years old. The following year his father Michael died four days before his 95th birthday on May 4, 1994. Rosina and Michael were buried together at Saint Charles Cemetery.
On New Year's Day in 1902, Frederick Starita was born in Brooklyn. He was the fourth child born to Sal and Concetta. They called him "Freddie." Right around the time of his 14th birthday, young Freddie developed pneumonia and died three weeks later, on January 22, 1916. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. When his parents died in 1945, they were buried with Freddie.
Sal and Concetta's fifth and final child was Antonino Charles Starita, born in Brooklyn on October 12, 1903. In April of 1930, Anthony and his step-brother John Cucurullo were living with sister Catherine and her husband Frank Banta and their children at 2088 East 7th Street in Brooklyn. Anthony was an electrician. He was a short 5' 4" man, weighing about 150 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a ruddy complexion.
Later in the year of 1930, Anthony married Rose Costanza. Rose was born in Brooklyn on January 4, 1903, the daughter of Marisma Costanza and Anna Gargiulo. Prior to the marriage, Rose was a milliner in a hat factory. In 1940, Anthony found employment through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as Superintendent for the Parks Department. Anthony & Rose never went beyond the 8th grade in school. By 1950 they were living at 100 Wilson Avenue in Brooklyn, conveniently right next to an ice cream parlor. Anthony was again working as an electrician.
Anthony and Rose had four children. The first was Rose Mary Starita, born in Brooklyn on January 7, 1932. In 1950, she was a typist for an insurance company. She does not appear to have married. She was 62 years old and living at West Babylon on Long Island when she died on May 15, 1994. She was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery.
While little is known about Rose Mary's life, even less is known about her brother Ferdinand "Freddy" Anthony Starita, born in Brooklyn on July 20, 1934. He was also living in West Babylon when he died on May 22, 2007 at the age of 72. He was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery.
Another brother who lived in West Babylon was William "Bill" Joseph Starita, born in Brooklyn on September 12, 1937. After him came John "Jackie" Starita on July 23, 1940. While little is known about his siblings, Jackie is a huge exception thanks to an elaborate obituary written by a nephew or niece.
Jackie began working at IBM in Manhattan in the early 1960's. He had a good knack for electronics just like his father. As a hobby he built his own television and many computers. He was a very generous person and gave to numerous charities, such as the American Cancer Society and Veterans' causes. He ran a set of networked computers out of his home that performed life-saving work on cancer research.
Jackie hosted many fun parties at the IBM Country Club as well at his own home in West Babylon. He declared himself "The Chief" and paraded around wearing a feathered headdress. He organized many bocce tournaments in his back yard.
Jackie was known as a selfless, kind and generous person. He could always be counted on to show up at various family functions. He was known as the problem solver of the family. He also had a soft spot for animals. His cat Fonzie was fed endless treats and of course had a seat at the dinner table. Jackie was well known to have a sweet tooth. His home was filled with various candy jars. Most Fridays at 5pm sharp would find him at his favorite pizzeria, Nunzio's. He was a pizza afficionado and knew all the best pizzeria's in almost every state and country he visited.
Jackie was a world traveler and shared many stories with his family and loved ones. He has been to over 50 countries, such as Australia, Iceland and Italy. He was a "walking encyclopedia." He was highly intelligent, loved to read and knew lots of trivia.
In fact, he was buried in the same plot with his sister Rose Mary and brother Fred.
This grave photo was taken before he died.
Jackie's parents, Anthony and Rose Starita, were living in Amity Harbor on Long Island when Anthony died on January 28, 1963. He was 64 years old. He was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery. A few years later, Rose was living in West Babylon when she died at the age of 68 on October 19, 1971. She was buried with Anthony at Saint Charles Cemetery.
Around 1940, Sal had lapsed into senility and was constantly in a confused and agitated state. Caring for him became more and more difficult and stressful for Concetta. In 1944, they were living at 2370 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn when she was diagnosed with Chronic Endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart) and Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). A year later, at the age of 75, Concetta died at home on April 15, 1945. Sal followed her eight months later on December 4, 1945, succumbing finally to heart disease like Concetta. He was 88 years old. They were buried together at Holy Cross Cemetery where Concetta's first husband, John Cucurullo, was buried many years before.
