Birth date: Dec 6, 1944 Death date: Nov 1, 2023
Salvatore "Sam” D'Arrigo, 78, of Lakeland, FL, passed away peacefully on November 1, 2023, with his family by his side. Sam was born in Sicily, Italy to the late Carmelo and Anna (Citra) D’Arrigo. Those that knew Sam knew that he Read Obituary
To the D’Arrigo Family
Sam was one of the greatest joys in my life and I never could pay my debt to him so I would never try. That is what life is all about and I feel honored to have known him.
Sincerely,
Frank Milea
My memory of Pops…. I have a few. I first met him through his amazing daughter, and my amazing friend Denice, when we finished Southwest Flight Attendant training and moved to Baltimore.
One of the first times I met him, I invited them to my apartment to have my spaghetti, which I made from Ragu, yes, from a jar!!! Sicilians don’t like that, but he sure did enjoy it and he ate 2 servings! He even said it was delicious.
Over the last seven and a half years, we’ve made even more memories. We had dinners at Dan’s house and the most stand out memory of him was at his new house in Lakeland in April of March 2023.
I made plans to visit him and Denice in Lakeland for a few days, my friend Joe picked me up from the Tampa airport, Denice was working, I let him know we would be there by 9pm. Denice wouldn’t get home until 1am from work. It was close to 9pm and I got a call, it was Pops, he asked, “Are you guys still coming?” I said, “yes, we’re almost there.” So we arrived by 9:30pm, the table was set for two, food in the instant pot and food in the crockpot, I think it was Italian wedding soup and something else I don’t remember. Joe and I ate and regardless of Denice’s instructions, once we ate, us three had red wine together and stayed up until Denice got home. He was so happy!
He will always have a place in my heart because he was so welcoming, so happy, so go with the flow. I’m more than happy to have had the chance to know him, love him, and gain a friend as amazing as Denice.
God bless you Pops, you will be missed, but I have a strong faith and I know that you’re in the most amazing place ever, the place that we all long to be. I’ll always be here for Denice to make sure she’s ok. Until we meet again, fly high and watch over us all.
I met Sam in grammar school when he first got here from Italy and we have been lifelong friends ever since. I can honestly say that whoever wrote his obit was exactly right about everything they said about him. A special man who’s memory as a great guy and great friend I will always remember.
