Danisi.org

Tag: military

  • June 2014 Newsletter

    June 2014 Newsletter

    Then and Now -A Family Newsletter

    June 2014

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    Where Did You Come From?

     

    Your ancestors came from Southern Italy, in the hilltop town of Palo del Colle. This simple little town is located in the region of Apuglia, in the province of Bari, along the Adriatic coast. The 6 Greeks colonized the town and honored pre-Christian Hercules as its defender and patron. The original coat of arms depicts Hercules ready for defense. Palo is ideally situated for military defense, so during the invasion of the Huns, during the Middle Ages, it defended itself successfully. The Romans left it to itself to administer its own government because they considered it too difficult to conquer! The present coat of arms now shows a Christian knight on horseback.

     

    Your ancestors, Michele Danisi and Giacoma Suoranno, date back to the late 1700’s or early 1800’s. They were simple country farmers and peasants. Due to poverty caused by the neglect of the wealthy northern landowners, it was Michelle and Giacoma’s children who forged their way to America in the early 1900’s.

     

    Today, Palo del Colle still has a piazza surrounded by two churches, a café and some shops. The Church of Madonna della Porta is where our family marriages and baptisms took place. It is not the most beautiful town in Italy because it is quite plain. Nevertheless, it holds history and charm and memories of those who came before us. So now you KNOW where you come from!

     

     

     

     

    Now…

    The All-American Family…with a doctor in the house!

    John, Maureen, Colin and Iris Zurlo are a New Jersey branch of the Danisi family tree. They have lived in North Caldwell for nearly ten years arriving from Little Falls, NJ before Colin (age 6) and Iris (age 3) were born. John is a Musculoskeletal Radiologist at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, training at New Jersey Medical School and the University of Pittsburgh. Before the birth of Colin, Maureen was a Social Worker serving the elderly in Bergen County, NJ. Now, she is a full time mom. She earned her BA at Ramapo College and MSW at Fordham University. Colin is in Kindergarten, extremely bright, and an experienced soccer player now dabbling in TBall. He wants to be a scientist one day. Iris is in school three days a week, also very smart, and a vivacious ballerina who eventually plans to become an astronaut. Other future plans include birthday parties, zoo trips, a trip to Dutch Wonderland in Pennsylvania, sleep overs, and playing on their new outside play set and trampoline. Eventually, they will make it to Disney World. They are fortunate to see their Grandma and Grandpa Zurlo (Barbara and James) a few times a week since they live close by in Little Falls and are always willing to help out.

    Submitted by Dr. John Zurlo

    By the way, John and his sister were raised by the most wonderful and loving parents who each have hearing loss since childhood. Kudos to them for a job well done!

    John is the son of James Zurlo II and BarbaraVan Court, grandson of Rosamaria Danisi and James Zurlo, great grandson of Francesco Danisi and Domenica Sangirardi.

     

    CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBMISSIONS TO:

    Liz Crimi Olsson

    80G Independence Court

    Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

    Phone: 914-245-4904

    Email: elizabeth@danisi.org

  • May 2014 Newsletter

    May 2014 Newsletter

    Then and Now -A Family Newsletter

    May 2014

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    A Man Ahead of His Time

    Tomaso Danisi was born in Palo del Colle, Bari, Italy in 1884. He was the only child of Michele Danisi and Maria Sangirardi. She died of the Spanish Flu when he was only five years of age. This left his father widowed, and he later married Maria’s sister, Pasqua Sangirardi, as was commonly done in those days. Tomaso eventually became the half- brother of six other siblings.

    As a young man in Italy, he served in the Italian military during WWI. He came to America because he was unhappy with the politics of war-torn Europe. He no longer wanted to lose years of his life by fighting in the Italian military. America was the land where he came to live, work, and raise a family in peace.

    He married Filomena Bozzi with whom he had nine children. In his home, he and his wife and children were “Americans” and spoke only English. He was a Roman Catholic with strong religious beliefs regarding marriage. He enjoyed reading, classical music, medicine, and was a business man. His competitors and customers described him as a very determined and hard- working family man. He came to this country not speaking the language and, nevertheless, in a short time, he owned a fuel oil business and an ice delivery business. Eventually, he purchased his own home. He encouraged Filomena to own and operate her own wedding dressmaking business. He believed that women should learn to become financially independent – a philosophy uncommon among Italian men at the time. She kept her profits in her own bank account and spent them as she pleased. His nine children became well educated with either technical training or college degrees. In addition, he insisted that they each learn to play a musical instrument, and he purchased the best instruments and instructors that he could find. In time, they became a family band.

    His American dream was upset by WWII, when he felt the horrors of the Euorpean wars followed him to his adopted country. In spite of this, when his sons were eligible to join the American military during WWII, he strongly urged them to participate and fight for America.

    In time, he acquired a vacation place on his half-brother’s farm in Port Jervis. He was a deep person, small and stocky in stature with a determined look that made him seem bigger than most men. His eyes always glimmered with mischief. He died in 1952.

    As told by his grandson Vincent (Jimmy) Danisi

    Tomaso was the son of Michele Danisi and Maria Sangirardi, grandson of Vito and Eugenia Grumo, great grandson of Michele Danisi and GiacomaSuoranno.

     

    Now… 

    Is there a doctor in the house?

    Frank Volpicelli grew up in Darien Connecticut and attended Darien High School where he was captain of the football team, and a member of the National Honor Society. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania (class of 2004) and graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine AOA in 2009. During that time he was awarded a Sarnoff Fellowship in Cardiology research for 1 year which resulted in two publications. Following his graduation from Einstein, Frank did his residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching hospital.

    He is currently employed by NYU Langone in Manhattan as an Attending Physician and Instructor of medicine. Most recently, he was appointed to the Medical Board at NYU Langone. In addition to seeing patients, he works in medical education, quality improvement, patient safety, and in finance reducing unnecessary care.

    Frank lives in Greenwich Connecticut with his wife, Elgida, who is the Director of Dermato-Pathology at Stamford Hospital in Stamford Connecticut. On October 26th 2012 they welcomed their first child, Frank Ermald Volpicelli, just three days ahead of Hurricane Sandy. The storm that hit the east coast three days later cannot compare to the flurry of joy that he brings to every day!

    Submitted by Liz Crimi Olsson with the help of Dr. Volpicelli

    Dr. Volpicelli (8/27/1982) is the son of Frank and Angela Volpicelli, grandson of Michael and Marie DeMeo, great grandson of Luigi and Angelina DeMeo, great great grandson of Franceso and DomenicaDanisi, great greatgreat grandson of Vito Danisi and Eugenia Grumo,great greatgreatgreat grandson of Michele Danisi and Giacoma Suoranna.

     

    CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBMISSIONS TO:

    Liz Crimi Olsson

    80G Independence Court

    Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

    Phone: 914-245-4904

    Email: elizabeth@danisi.org