RESTAINO.com FAMILY DOCUMENTS

Restaino Family Documents

Sunday is Father's Day - at least so the advertisements tell us.  For our part, every day is Father's Day - and every day is Mother's Day.

The untold sacrifices of Mother and Father to provide their children with what the parents believe to be the important things in life - food, shelter, medical attention, education, parental love - everything that sometimes is taken for granted by children.

So maybe even though the event is commercialized, it does serve a useful purpose to set aside one day a year for our Father.


I have no Father or Grandfather to share this Sunday with - but I do have beautiful memories of years gone by that I can relive this Sunday.

I also have heard from my father and grandfather philosophies that have guided me in my own daily life.

It is with grateful heart that I look back upon the past and summon from the deep recesses of my memory the joys of my childhood spent with a devoted father and a lovable grandfather on Father's Day.

I wrote about my father and now I want to introduce my maternal grandfather who was a member of Garibaldi's legions in 1870 when that legendary figure in Italian history took over Rome and united Italy into a country.  It was on my grandfather's knee that he told me about the 1870 exploits.  His shining, gleaming blue eyes delivered a message separate and apart from his moving lips.  I could see pride reflected in his eyes and a feeling of accomplishment in his vibrant face.

Restaino Family Documents

We descendants of Francesco Cocchiola are proud of our grandfather and the philosophy of life he imparted to us down through the years during the formative days of our childhood.  Pictured in this column is grandfather Cocchiola and his offspring - the photograph was taken around 1938.  In the front row, left to right, is my mother Rose Cocchiola.  The center is grandpop.  To his left is his oldest daughter, Felicia Cocchiola Restaino.  Standing left to right: Carmen, Ralph, Generoso and Angelo Cocchiola.