Frank Louis Schiavo

Frank Louis Schiavo of Winter Park, Florida passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 29, 2025. He was 90 years old. He is survived by his devoted wife of nearly 60 years Eileen Sullivan Schiavo. He is also survived by his son Mike Schiavo and daughter-in-law Maggie Debelius, his daughter Kathy Greco and son-in-law Phil Greco, and by four grandchildren-Charlie and Jack (Mike and Maggie), and Gemma and Anthony (Kathy and Phil). Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Michael (1980) and Gemma (1997) Schiavo and his sisters Antoinette (2014) and Marjory (2024) Schiavo. Frank was born December 4, 1934 in Philadelphia PA. As a proud Philadelphian, he attended Friends Select School, the University of Pennsylvania, and Villanova Law School (JD). He also earned an LLM in Tax from New York University. Frank was a Devout Catholic and attended St. Margaret Mary in Winter Park, FL for almost 50 years. Frank served in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps from 1960-63, stationed in Alaska. This sparked a lifelong infatuation with Alaska, and he traveled there many times to fish and sightsee. He practiced as an attorney in New Jersey and Florida, and as a CPA in Florida, but he discovered his true calling when he joined the faculty of the University of Orlando Law School (now Barry University School of Law) in 1995. He served on the faculty for many years as a professor and associate dean, and helped lead the school through the accreditation process. Frank loved teaching, and as one colleague put it, he had a tremendous impact on countless students. He loved learning, and just about a month before he passed was talking with his daughter-in-law about "getting up to speed on AI." He loved to travel - and not just to Alaska. He and Eileen traveled all over the US to many cities, national parks and monuments, and on many river cruises. They even braved the long flight across the Atlantic a couple of times to go on a river cruise, as well as an extensive tour of Italy. Frank loved food - a simple meal at the local diner, a nice piece of fish, a fancy Italian dinner, the best calamari ever in Anchorage, Alaska, a handful of ginger snaps, a simple cup of ice cream. He loved sending back his oatmeal or soup if it wasn't nuclear hot. (Seriously, we mean surface of the sun HOT). He was very precise when cutting cakes and pies, his mother would often ask for "just an inch" and sure enough, he'd cut "just an inch" to which she would reply, "Well I wanted more than that Frankie!" He loved good sleeping weather and could nap ANYWHERE! His family would often joke with him about having a "Schiavo Sleep Gene" which he passed on to his children and grandchildren. He loved doing crossword puzzles in ink. Frank never met a squirrel that he liked. And he never met a bird feeder that could keep the squirrels away. His fifty year battle with squirrels and bird feeders became a running joke between Frank, his daughter, Kathy and his granddaughter, Gemma. And most of all, he LOVED being a grandfather. He was incredibly proud of Charlie, Jack, Gemma, and Anthony, and excited for all their adventures that lie ahead. He taught Charlie and Jack to fly fish and he taught Gemma and Anthony how to do crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles. He loved to read with his grandchildren. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Margaret Mary Chapel https://stmargaretmary.org/ in Winter Park on September 13, 2025 at 11am. Visitation will be at 10am. One of Frank's favorite colors was red. We'd like to ask that anyone who would like to attend his funeral Mass wear something red to honor his life and legacy. If you are unable to attend the funeral Mass, please send a memory that you have with Frank to his daughter, Kathy, at katgreco@outlook.com. Kathy is going to put these memories together in a book for his four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, Frank's family kindly asks that donations be made in Frank's memory to any of the following organizations: Alaska Raptor Center https://alaskaraptor.org/product/donate/ (Frank supported the Alaska Raptor Center for over 30 years!) Holy Redeemer Annual Fund https://www.hrcatholicschool.org/giving/annual-fund.cfm (Frank supported Holy Redeemer for 10 years!) St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church https://stmargaretmary.org/memorial-giving-form/ (Frank was a parishioner at St. Margaret Mary for almost 50 years!)