Santo Spagnolo, 85, Florida, formerly of Kokomo, passed away at 4:30 pm Sunday, April 19, 2020, at Venice Regional Hospital in Venice, Florida. He was born August 3, 1934, in Cattolica, Sicily, the son of the late Giovanni & Caterina (Crapanzano) Spagnolo. On March 5, 1962, in Ribera, Sici-ly, he married Antonina Par-lapiano, who preceded him in death on June 4, 2011.

Santo was a gentle giant and a hard worker. He worked in construction all his adult life in Montreal Canada and in Koko-mo. In Kokomo, he worked with Mohr’s Construction for 25 years, retiring in January of 1995. Shortly after retirement, he along with his wife and daughter Antonella, became United States Citizens which he was quiet proud of. Santo often talked about his child-hood where he worked in the fields in Sicily with his donkey cultivating the crops. This ear-ly job of Santo’s would foster a love for gardening and grow-ing multiple varieties of vege-tables and herbs that he and his wife would use to make their fabulous sauce. He loved his family and friends and with his outward personality never showed any shyness. He was outgoing and personable, al-ways giving you a great big smile. He will be missed by many. Santo was a current proud 50 year member of the Labor Union #274, St. Patrick Catholic Church, and former member of The Knights of Columbus in Kokomo.

Santo is survived by his chil-dren, Antonella (Col. Larry D., U.S. Army Ret.) Barker, Punta Gorda, Florida, Cathy (Mike) Meleason, Kokomo, and John (Patti) Spagnolo, Greenville, S.C.; grandchildren, Susan (Kevin) Schmidt, McCords-ville, Olivia Thurmond, Lucas Thurmond, both of Blooming-

ton, Breanna Barker, Bloom-ington, Cassidy (fiancé, Ian Zanger) Barker, Mountain View, CA, Lori (David) De-agostino, Greenville, S.C., David (Angela) Ballew, Mt. Dora, FL, Kellie (Eddy) Sigueroa, Mt. Dora, FL, Regi-na (Shane) Decker, Greenville, S.C., Anthony (Adrian) Spagnolo, Greenville, S.C.; great-grandchildren, Anna-belle, of McCordsville, Chris-tian, Maddie, Carlie, Logan, Izzy, all of Mt. Dora, FL, Shayla, Haven, Elijah, Nattie, Gabby, Oliver, Hayden, Lilly, Dominic, all of Greenville, S.C.; and special nephew, John (Anna) Parlapiano, Montreal.

Santo was preceded in death by his parents; wife, 2 sisters; 4 brothers-in-law; and 1 neph-ew.

Friends are invited to attend the funeral via a webcast of the service. The webcast will be available at 2 pm Sunday, April 26, 2020 and for 90 days after. You may use the link at the bottom of his obituary page at www.shirleyandstout.com to view the service. Private en-tombment will be held on Monday in Sunset Memory Garden Cemetery. Friends are invited to watch the committal service at 10 am through Sun-set Memory Garden Ceme-tery’s Facebook page. Memo-rial contributions may be made in Santo’s memory to the Alz-heimer’s Association, 50 E. 91st Street, Suite 100, Indian-apolis, IN 46209-4830, or give online at www.alz.org. Mes-sages of condolence may be left online at www.shirleyandstout.com.

Santo Spagnolo August 3, 1934 ~ April 19, 2020

He Only Takes The Best

God saw he was getting tired and a cure was not to be.

So, He put his arm around him and whispered, “Come with me.”

With tear-filled eyes we watched him

suffer and fade away. Although we loved him deeply, we could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating, hard-working hands put to rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us He only takes the best.

In Loving Memory Of:

Santo Spagnolo August 3, 1934 ~ April 19, 2020

Private Family Services: Sunday, April 26, 2020

Shirley & Stout Funeral Home & Crematory

1315 West Lincoln Road Kokomo, Indiana

Private Entombment:

Monday, April 27, 2020 Sunset Memory Gardens

Memorial Contributions: Alzheimer’s Association