Santa (Di Puglia) Savoca's Obituary
Santa (Di Puglia) Savoca, 93, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, June 29, 2018. She came to the US from Sicily, Italy 56 years ago and has resided in Syracuse. She was a communicant of Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter’s Church and a member of its St. Therese Society and the Italian prayer group at the church. Santa was very proud of her Italian heritage and had a strong presence of friends in Syracuse’s north side Italian community. Santa began her career at Syracuse China and retired from Julius Resnick Pocketbook Factory. Her most joyful memories were of traveling back to her homeland with her daughter and family and residing in Giardini Nexus, a lovely small town on the Mediterranean Sea nestled below Taormina and Mt. Etna. Santa will be remembered for her kindness and love to all that were in her life, even until the end, she always said “Thank You” “Thank You” to her daughter and caretakers.
She is predeceased by her husband, Francesco Savoca; her parents, Giuseppa and Nino Di Puglia; her brother, Francesco Di Puglia and sister-in-law, Rosa Di Puglia.
Santa was most proud of her only child, Gina Heitzman and son-in-law, the late Dr. George C. Heitzman, and her precious grandson, Jacob G. (Sofia) Heitzman. She spent the last four years of her life living with her daughter and son-in-law; she would often refer to her new home as paradise.
She is also survived by her sister, Rosa Curcuruto of Sicily, Italy; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces and nephews, all of Sicily, Italy.
A calling hour for family and friends will be held from 10 am – 11 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter’s Church, followed by a funeral mass at 11:00 am at the church, 301 Ash St., Syracuse, NY. Entombment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Santa’s name may be made to Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter’s Church.
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