Obituary of Catherine Lucie Faggiano

Catherine Lucie Faggiano, born on August 4, 1923 in Sicily, Italy, moved to Casablanca, Morocco as a young girl with her family in order to avoid the tyranny of Mussolini. Catherine became fluent in both French and Italian during these early years and at the age of 15 came to America by ship with her parents and siblings and quickly picked up her third language, English. The family eventually settled in Santa Cruz, California, where she worked as a telephone operator until she married Nino Faggiano in 1951. Together they opened and operated Nino's Hairstyling Salon, started a family and raised three children. She was a great cook, often preparing elaborate meals for extended family gatherings, and wrote a small cookbook titled Catherine's Best Recipes which included holiday favorites like the Christmas Yule Log, Easter Cream Puff Cake and Green Pie for St. Patrick's Day. Her hobbies included needlepoint, knitting, crocheting and sewing. She made family clothes as well as creative doll clothes, Halloween costumes and intricate wedding apparel for herself and her daughter. You could often find her at family weddings capturing the event on the latest video hardware. She loved Italian folk dancing, ballroom dancing of the forties and enjoyed doing crossword puzzles. Catherine passed away at her home on November 5, 2011 of natural causes. She is survived by her sister Antionette Basile, her brother Salvatore Basile, her daughter Marie Piccardo and her sons Tom and Fred Faggiano. In addition, Catherine leaves five grandchildren, Laura and Andrew Piccardo and Michael, Robert and Jamie Charcho; and two great-grandchildren, Mason and Catherine (namesake) Charcho. Catherine was preceded in death by her husband Nino Faggiano in 2004. A family only private memorial service will be held for Catherine.