Dr. John Anthony "Doc" Santarelli

SANTARELLI, Dr. John Anthony "Doc", 85, died Tuesday October 28, 2008, peacefully at home. The eighth of ten children, he was born to Italian immigrants Lucia Lucente and Tobia Santarelli, who arrived on Ellis Island in 1905 for the first time. His mom and pop owned a small grocery store in their own home which they lost in the Great Depression. Doc's earliest years were lean and he took various jobs to support the family including as a butcher and a tailor. He attended Juniata College in Juniata, Pa., on a football scholarship. He joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and was stationed on Okinawa. When he returned in 1945, he attended the Illinois College of Optometry on the GI Bill. It was in Chicago that he met his stunning wife Eleonore at a dance at the Del Prado Hotel. He was certified as an Optometrist in 1950 and then moved to Western Pennsylvania. On April 7, 1951, he opened his practice of optometry, which he eventually expanded to include an office in Monroeville, Pa. He donated his services to the Carmelite Sisters in Loretto, Pa. for decades. He was active in many civic organizations while in Barnesboro. He was the president of the Lions Club and a member of the Pennsylvania Board of Health. An avid outdoorsman, he was one of the founding members of the Moss Barn Hunting Camp in Potter County, Pa., where he delighted in taking money from his friends in a game or two of poker. He was a charter member of the Cambrian Hills Golf Club where nearly seven days a week you would find him walking his nine or eighteen holes of golf. He was quite a practical joker and you never knew what to expect when at the dinner table with him. He was a loving and kind man who never met a stranger. He was a shrewd expert at making people feel comfortable in his presence. He loved Big Band music, the Nittany Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers and rarely missed a day working his crossword puzzles. He loved his Italian heritage and spaghetti with meatballs. Most of all, he adored his family. He never glowed as brightly as when he was with his grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary and son, Dr. John J. Santarelli. He is survived by his wife, Eleonore, and his children, Gail Santarelli Maynard and her husband, Jay, Laura (Lori) Santarelli Follmer and her husband, James, their children Leslie, Amy and Sarah Follmer, and daughter-in-law, Diana Santarelli Maelzer and children, Anthony and Andrea Santarelli. He is also survived by his brother, Tobias Santarelli (Lorraine) and sisters Christine Dunmire and Elizabeth Sindrich (Peter) and their families. He leaves to grieve a large extended Italian and Polish family, including his most dedicated and devoted nephew, Gregory and his fianc‚, Patty. He led a remarkable life. Funeral arrangements are not yet scheduled, but will be held in Pennsylvania. A memorial service will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in the near future.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.