Francesco "Frank" Rapuano

Francesco "Frank" Rapuano, 93, of Fairfax, passed away peacefully at home in Fairfax on Sept. 25, 2025. Born on Jan. 2, 1932, in Sant'Arsenio, Italy, he was the son of the late Carmine and Immacolata (Ippolito) Rapuano. Frank grew up in Italy and briefly attended law school in Napoli before immigrating to the United States at age 19 in 1951 and settling with his family in Woburn, Mass.

A lifelong learner of a variety of subjects and an advocate for higher education, Frank earned his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and his doctorate from Clark University.

He served in the United States Army during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1954. He married his wife, Barbara Marie Landry, in 1959 and settled down in Wakefield, Mass., to start a family and begin a career in economics as administrator for financial planning and control at Raytheon Co. in Bedford, Mass. Later, he was a professor of economics at Worcester State University in Worcester, Mass., and Curry College in Milton, Mass., and also taught economics at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. and Suffolk University in Boston. His career also included time as a special agent for the US Department of Labor and as an economist for Liberty Mutual Life Insurance.

In 1978, Frank moved his family to Springfield, Va., to start a job as professor of economics at the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir and eventually designed and built a beautiful home in Lorton, Va. From digging the foundation to putting in the plumbing to laying the cement to building brick arches, Frank had his hands on every single aspect of the house, showing his nature as a true Renaissance Man able to learn how to do just about anything.

Anyone who met Frank would agree that there was absolutely nobody else like him. He had a very unique point of view and thought deeply and carefully about matters of philosophy, art, science and ethics. He was unfailingly generous, giving his time, energy and earnings to anyone who asked, and he always had grand plans to write a book about the many topics that occupied his active and agile mind-his life, swimming, dancing, and how the leaders of this world might do a better job of avoiding war.

Frank also loved going to the gym and staying fit, spending winters skiing and summers swimming and sailing. In later years, he proudly recalled the many pounds he lifted at the gym and the times he climbed up an especially tall tree to hang a rope swing at their summer home in Gloucester, Mass., one of his favorite places.

He leaves behind his devoted children: Kenneth Francesco Rapuano and his wife Susan of Centreville, VA; Maria Rapuano and her husband Emerson Deitz of Fairfax, VA; Netta Rapuano and her wife Candace Pillow of Houston, TX; and Rina Rapuano and her husband Bill Russell of Washington, DC. Frank was the proud and loving grandfather of Elsa and Greta "Monty" Deitz; and Eli and Iris Russell; and step-grandchildren Kay (Deitz) Carbaugh, her husband Eric, and their children, Crosby and Holden Allyn and Ezra Carbaugh; and Colby and Jacob Heredia.

He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Frank was predeceased by his brothers, Joseph and Damiano Rapuano, and two sisters who passed away at a young age.

The funeral will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 at the Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Ave. W, Vienna, VA 22180, with visitation at 10 a.m., followed by the funeral service 11 a.m. Interment will be at 1:30 at the National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, 18424 Joplin Rd, Triangle, VA 22172. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his memory to the American Association for Cancer Research, found at https://www.aacr.org/