Obituary of Frances & Frank Santini

Frances Santini, 96, of Trenton, entered into God’s loving care on May 12, 2020, at CareOne at Evesham in Evesham Township, NJ. Born in the Chambersburg section of Trenton to Italian immigrant parents, Salvatore and Angelina (DeFrancesco) Garofalo, she was a lifelong area resident and a devout parishioner of St. Joachim Church-Our Lady of the Angels Parish. Frances is recently predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Frank J. Santini. Frances was predeceased by her brothers and sister, Florence Cicchino, Josephine Garofalo, Anthony Garofalo, Angelina Garofalo and Pasquale Garofalo. She was a loving and devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is survived by her son Frank Santini and his wife Marie (Fares) and her daughter Alberta Santini-Rietzen and her husband John. Frances was best known as Grammy to her six grandchildren: Katherine Colella and her husband Rob, Elizabeth Santini, Joseph Santini, John Rietzen lll, Brielle Rietzen and Christina Rietzen and her great-granddaughter Nicolina Colella, lovingly called her Gigi. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Veronica Garofalo and many loving nieces and nephews. Frances was employed for many years as a seamstress for various local clothing manufacturers and retired from Wags Manufacturing Co. in Trenton. During the Vietnam War, her skills were transformed from sewing women’s garments to outfitting the soldiers. Her sewing talents were evident in beautiful outfits she would sew for her daughter, even lending her hand to create Alberta’s stunning wedding gown. Coming from humble beginnings, she was a wiz at creating gourmet meals from whatever was on hand in the cupboard for unexpected guests. Somehow everyone knew to show up at 5:30. An avid baker, no holiday was complete without cookies, cakes and pies from Frances’ kitchen. She taught her girls the traditional family recipes, but you had to be quick to jot them down, for nothing was written, all were from memory. We cherish the seven fishes, cheese bread and Christmas cookie recipes that she prepared with her family and hope to pass these traditions on through the generations. Frances loved to travel, play cards with her friends and visit the casinos. Her greatest accomplishment was teaching the grandchildren her strategy of hitting the big one on the poker slot machine. Frank (Chick) J. Santini, 95, of Trenton, entered into God’s care on April 20, 2020 at Virtua Willingboro Hospital in Willingboro, NJ. Born in the Chambersburg section of Trenton to Italian immigrant parents, Umberto and Nicolina (Guidici) Santini, he was a lifelong area resident. The oldest of three brothers, he was predeceased by Tulio and Leonard Santini. He was a loving and devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Frank is survived by his wife of 66 years, Frances (Garofalo) Santini and their two children, Frank Santini and his wife Marie (Fares) and Alberta Santini-Rietzen and her husband John. Frank was best known as Pop-Pop Chick to his six grandchildren, Katherine Colella and her husband Rob, Elizabeth Santini, Joseph Santini, John Rietzen III, Brielle Rietzen, and Christina Rietzen and, last but not least, the sparkle of everyone’s eye, great-granddaughter Nicolina Colella. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. His family will treasure and continue the traditional Italian celebrations of Christmas Eve’s Seven ishes and Easter’s cheese bread. We will always remember how his cheeks glowed like Santa Clause as he drank the red boxed wine. Frank was employed as a machinist for over 40 years with Mercer Paper Tube Corp. in Trenton. During his employment, he was a proud member of United Paperworkers International Union AFL-CIO Local No. 1287 acting in various positions. As a union delegate, he was at his best during union contract negotiations. On the weekends, you could visit with Fran and Frank as they manned the coat check room at Roman Hall Restaurant. Frank was a lifelong devout parishioner of St Joachim Church-Our Lady of the Angels Parish where he was a Holy Name usher for many years and was active in numerous church functions. He was a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, Trenton Council 355, serving as an officer for many years and volunteering countless hours for various charity events. As a Life Member of the Roman Society, Frank served as a trustee and enjoyed playing bocce with the members. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:30 am Thursday, August 6, 2020 at Our Lady of the Angels Parish-St. Joachim’s Church, 20-56 Butler Street, Trenton, NJ 08611. Burial of Cremains will follow in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Hamilton, NJ. Arrangements have been entrusted to D'Errico Funeral Chapel, 30 Yardville Allentown Road, Hamilton, NJ located in the Buklad Merlino facility.