Samuel J. Arite

ARITE Salvatore (Samuel) Samuel J. Arite passed away Sunday, April 22, 2007, in his home. Born September 30, 1931, he was 75 years old. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 34 years, Catherine Angela (Rotondo); parents, Giuseppe and Concetta (Allia) Arite; brother, Anthony "Tony" and sister, Mary Elizabeth Arite. Also preceding him in death are brothers- and sisters-in law, Nicolas and Virginia (Di Terrlizzi) Rotondo, Frank and Alice (Blaczyk) Rotondo, Nicolas and Serafina (Rotondo) Di Lorenzo, John and Ciara (Rotondo) Sturniolo, Joseph Restifo and James Vitale. Samuel is survived by his children, Anthony "Tony", Timothy and Ann Marie (Andrea Senecal) Arite; sisters, Rose Arite, Catherine Orite and Mary (Cosimo) Figliomeni; brother, James (Angie) Arite of Seboyetta, New Mexico; sisters-in-law Rita Arite, Anna Restifo and Vendura "Dolly" Vitale; God children, Anita (Arite) Lujan, Maria Arite and Joe Sofo Jr. He also leaves behind many beloved nieces and nephews who brought such joy to his life. He is remembered for his gentle strength, his deep faith and the unshakable kindness of his spirit. His lessons - of love and loyalty for family, generosity, humility, acceptance, patience - were taught by example every day to those around him. Sam was very proud of his family and his Italian and Scilian heritage. He was a member of the Alba Club and Italian American Sports Club. Aside from his family and his Italian heritage, Sam's joy was baseball. In his early years, he was a grounds keeper and scoreboard operator at Swayne Field, and spent most days watching and listening to Toledo Mud Hens and Detroit Tigers games during season. Sam was a devout Catholic, parishioner of St. Ann in his youth, St. Pius X and Christ the King for most of his life. He attended St. Ann School through 1946, was a 1950 graduate of Central Catholic and earned his degree in chemistry from the University of Toledo in 1954. He worked for The DeVilbiss Company (and later Champion International) as a chemical engineer working in rubber compounding and manufacturing. His second career was in education as a teacher at Robinson and Byrnedale Junior High Schools. The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the J. Jeffrey Fretti Funeral Home, 5045 W. Sylvania Avenue (at Corey Road), 419-843-1117 where Scripture services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening. Prayers will be recited at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the funeral home followed by Mass of the Resurrection 10:00 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.