Thinking of you today Aunt Fau, on what would have been your 106 birthday. We loved having you visit us in Great Falls.  Poker games and Your Italian meatballs !
Love you and miss you

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.
We miss you Aunt Fau! You are in our hearts and prayers always . With all of my love, Lisa

I' m sitting out on my patio this evening where we shared so many happy times. I miss them both so much. Anthony (Tony) my husband for 57 years and his aunt, Faustine. She was here with us for a lot of her birthdays and we enjoyed it so much.
I'm having a glass of wine and toasting them both!!! RIP tony & Fau!!!

Hi Mom,
Today you would have been 105 years old so you have been on my mind a lot. . Though its been over 3 years since you left us there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of you and all the life lessons you taught me. Being over 60 now certainly has given me a new perspective on just how tough and determined you were to be be so active all the way into your late 90’s. We had many great birthday celebrations together and I remember them fondly. I remember 20 years ago dinner at Anthony’s in Lynwood, Wa before we moved to AZ. How time has flown by. I will drink a toast this evening to what a great Mom and person you were. . I see so much of you in your grand daughter Karyn as everyday goes by. Your influence and love lives on in her......There are never enough words to thank you for bringing me into thew world and all you did for me......I try every single day to wake up with a purpose as you always did.
....Your loving Son Michael

I miss you Aunt Fau! All your family in VA would get so excited when you scheduled a visit. You shared your meatball recipes with us and gave us cooking tips . We laughed at stories shared. You passed a two dollar bill to each of our children. Fond memories!

Hi Mom,

Today its been 2 years since you left us and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of you and all the life lessons you taught me. I think of how lucky I was to have you and dad as parents when I was young and how much love and support I always received. I think about the lessons of respect for older people and family that you both taught me. I think of you smiling in the kitchen cooking and the happy home you worked hard to make everyday. I was very blessed to have you as my Mom and have you in my life as long as I did.

The older I get the more I value the example you always set as you got older. It all looked so easy when you are in you 30’s and 40’s but the reality of ones 60’s is quite different. When I think of you going strong in your 80’s, flying around to visit people, cooking, cleaning, praying for hours at a time, and the sheer power of your determination, I am reminded of what an amazing person you were. Your strength to accept the difficulties of life with a prayer, love, and a smile has never meant more to me.

I can’t ever thank you enough for being the great Mom that you were to me and your fierce loyalty and love. I treasure all the years you spent with your grandaughter Karyn as her and I have memories now of you that we share that no one else really understands. I know you are smiling down from heaven on us and I feel your watchful spirit often.

I try not to be sad but I will admit somedays its there and how could it not be after all our adventures together. You were always there for me no matter what. I thank you for both the caring heart and work ethic that you left me with. It lives on in your grandaughter Karyn as well. Those were great immeasurable gifts. 

I try to remember every day how you didn’t complain when you had plenty of reasons to, your incredible positive attitude every morning when you woke up, and your unconditional love.

When I wake up every day I hear the words you said hundreds of times in my head, “ wake up everyday with a purpose” I try hard to follow those words each day.

Mom, thank you again for everything you did. You are not forgotten for one minute. Say hello to everyone with you in heaven as I know you have many friends and loved ones there.

Your Son, Michael

We loved having Fau for those summer weeks when she would stay with us. The last was on her 97th or 98th birthday, I think. My kids
and grandkids enjoyed her so much and she enjoyed them. Lisa's son, Kevin and Shelley's daughter, Emily are with her in one of your pics.
I say a rosary for her often as she always did for us. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss Anthony. Life will never be the same for me without him. Grief is an emotion we all share, isn't it? A small price to pay for having loved someone so much, though.

Thinking about all of the lives that Aunt Fau touched over her 101 years and praying for their continued healing. She was beautiful inside and out and her presence with us is greatly missed. Aunt Fau will continue to live in the hearts of those who loved her and never be forgotten. <3
Rest in peace, we love you Aunt Fau.

I can remember the first time we met. I went to Mike's house as we were going on a bike ride in AZ. I got the feeling she was sizing me up trying to decide exactly what type of a person her son was going to be associating with. After a few meetings it was easy to see that I had been accepted into her family. It was such a treat to go there and receive a hug from her. Mike and I never went on a bike ride where we weren't told "you two be careful." She was a winner. She was a lady of prayer. She was a joy to talk with and to listen to her stories. She was full of wisdom and love. I am blessed to be able to say I knew Faustina Puleo, one great lady.

I’m Matt Boyle, the son of Lisa and Ray Boyle, and Fau was my great, great aunt. We all called her Aunt Fau.

When Aunt Fau was in Virginia, we knew there was going to be some great family parties! We couldn’t wait to get over to my grandfather and grandmother, Anthony and Marlene Grimaldi’s, house and see her. We loved to witness her hilarious verbal jousting with our grandfather. She was like a powerful, wise force arriving from some other place and time. We didn’t really know where she was coming from and where she was leaving to, but we always expected her to come back next year…and indeed she did for many, many years.

As a teenager, I had the great privilege of losing money to her at the poker table. She used to say and do things at that poker table that had all my uncles and grandfather tearful with laughter. I distinctly remember an occasion when she bet rather high, so all the guys were angry with her. They complained and said, “Now why did you go and do that?!” And she replied coolly, “That’s to get the shoemakers out.” Well, we’ve probably said that at every poker game since.

Another striking thing was Aunt Fau’s health, vitality, and wisdom. Underneath all the funny quips and hilarity, she radiated a deep sense of gratitude for everything and sincerity towards everyone. I mean, everyone in the room with her could feel that. There was no question. We all benefited from her advice on how to live long and live well.

Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to write down so many details about her amazing life and for posting so many photos. I’m learning exciting things now about Aunt Fau that I never knew before. We will all miss her for sure, but she lives on in our hearts.

Aunt Fau was my grandfather's (Anthony Grimaldi) aunt. So Aunt Fau was my great, great aunt! I loved her visits to Virginia and hearing stories about our extended family, most of whom I never had the pleasure of meeting. We always got a laugh when people thought Fau was my grandpa's wife instead of his aunt. My grandpa was quite a jokester and quick on his feet with witty remarks. When Aunt Fau came to visit, I saw where he got that from! She was the only one who could dish it right back to him. It was very entertaining to witness conversations between the two of them. I am comforted to know that Aunt Fau now rests peacefully in heaven and is keeping my grandfather in line :) My heart goes out to your family during this time and I will keep you in my prayers.

Caitlin Barnes

Mike,
What a beautiful tribute to a truly beautiful woman. I loved Aunt Fau remember her having such a wonderfully feisty personality. Listening to her and my dad (Anthony Grimaldi) with their verbal sparring was quite entertaining. Aunt Fau would always say to us, just before she left our house, " I will be back next year, God willing." We were blessed to have her in our lives for as long as we did. Picture #55 is Aunt Fau with Kevin Boyle (my youngest son) and Emily Mattice (Shelley's youngest). When Aunt Fau came to visit each year, she would always bring a handful of $2 bills to pass out to all the kids (7). She looked wonderful for her age. She told me that her beauty secret was using Ponds Cold Cream since she was young. When we went out as a family to dinner, people thought that she was dad's wife. :) 
Her love of family and the importance she put on family was admirable. She worked very hard to stay connected to everyone. She will be missed by many.
We would love to attend her celebration of life in September.
Ray, Lisa, Matt, Kevin Boyle and Caitlin and Ian Barnes
lbo2969@gmail.com

What an amazing woman. We loved her visits to Virginia....we played poker, had cookouts, and shared many laughs. She used to bring the kids $2 bills every visit and they still have them. We were so sad when she could no longer make the trip. We will miss her dearly. She is resting in heaven now, in the Lords arms with loved ones, including my dad. Mike, our deepest sympathies.

Mike. she seemed a wonderful person. I can see how kind she was.
and how much you loved her. I lost my mother May 24th. four days before her 82nd birthday.  my mom lived nearly more 20 years after a massive stroke, that robbed her of her ability to speak. like your mom. my mom was compassionate and had a strong will. I too have mom's ashes in my hutch. deciding what to do with them. bless you and Faustina.

Today, June 25th, 2016 would have been my Mom's 102nd Birthday.

Her passing on April 11th, 2016 was something I had been prepared to expect for over a year, but its actual happening was much harder than I had ever imagined. It was a true blessing because for the last 6 months of her life she was in very ill health but the finality of it has taken a while to sink in which is why for many of you, this is the first you have heard of it.

I do apologize for the delay in telling everyone, but we all grieve in our own way and for me it's been hard the last two months because it doesn't seem true. Faustina was always invincible, she was bullet-proof, she was always there with her love, her smile and her wise advice, always there in my life the last 59 years and in many of yours. So to acknowledge her passing has been more of a challenge than I ever expected. There was no need to rush though so I didn't. I wanted to honor her and her memory in a way that paid tribute to her incredible spirit and it's taken some time for me and her grandaughter Karyn to decide exactly what we wanted to do.

This tribute page going up on her birthday is the first step and through the wonders of technology a way for all the people whose lives she touched to participate and share their thoughts and stories.

Now, many of us know of Faustina's love of the telephone and that she would have wanted me to call each of you and have an hour long conversation. Well in time I may, but in all honesty, calling all of you would have been very hard on me right now as the deep emotions of her passing have taken longer to subside than I expected. So for that reason, and a few others, a live celebration of her life won't take place until sometime in mid September in Erie. That will allow some more time to pass and for everyone who wishes to be there to attend and if they are unable they can post their thoughts here.

I traveled to Phoenix in April and retrieved Faustina's ashes as I honored her request to be cremated. She told me at least 50 times " Don't spend a bunch of money on me when I am dead " . She was always being practical and ever worried about how tough an actual funeral might be on those that loved her. So she is now happily residing on my shelf while I decide what to do with her ashes and I am happy to have her close to me again. She is free of her earthly body and free to roam and visit everyone.

My Mom was a superstar of a human being plain and simple. She was the toughest yet most compassionate person I have ever known. She faced a lot of adversity in her life starting in her childhood and living through the depression and two world wars. She had to wait 20 years in an Italian family before finally having a child. She beat breast cancer in 1994, a broken hip in 1999 and a heart attack in 2010. She stayed strong during my Dad's terminal illness all through 1991 and death in 1992, and my own near death experience in late 2005. Through all of these events she stayed strong, she prayed and she never let them dampen her enthusiasum for life or her faith in the future. She had a will to live that was as huge as her heart.

Though at times difficult, I had the honor and pleasure of living under the same roof with her for over 20 years. My daughter Karyn grew up with her Grandma conveniently across the hall helping her through life and dispensing bits of wisdom for the first 18 years of her life. She lived long enough to watch Karyn get married which was no small feat for her at age 98 to fly from Phoenix to San Diego then drive 6 hours back. Karyn always wanted her Grandmother's diamond wedding ring from the time she was 10 years old, and my Mom was so proud to give it to her husband Vance in 2012 to propose to Karyn with. Karyn tells me that she thinks of her Grandma everyday when she wakes up and looks at that ring. I see my Mom's spirit in Karyn everyday single day and it is a fitting legacy.

In retrospect it was a rare privilege because no matter the circumstances she never complained and always looked for the positive side of things. That is a lesson that I will never forget. No one cared more selflessly about other people's well being more than my Mom. When I was young my Dad nicknamed her "Florence Nightingale" because of how much she cared about others and was willing to do anything for them, even complete strangers. If more people in this world were like her there would be a lot less problems.

She loved all of her family deeply and would always want to be there to help out all the way into her mid 90's. She had more energy and mental toughness than 5 olympic marathoners put together. She was truly one of a kind and her passing leaves a big hole in my life and the lives of all those she loved through the years. Though I often thanked her in my 50's for all she had done for me in my life, I could never thank her enough for the great examples she set for me about how to adapt to tough circumstances, accept change, forgive, and care deeply about others.

When things got tough she got out her rosary beads and started praying. If my Mom didn't say at least 1 million Hail Mary's in her life I would be shocked. That was her special gift, her belief in prayer, her faith, it was a powerful force that I know touched many people in ways that they don't even realize.

Faustina was all about her family and friends and was fiercely committed to staying in touch with everyone no matter where she lived. Family was the most important thing in her life. I always admired her ability to consistently write and phone everyone and stay in touch. I did not inherit that ability and often was informed and in touch with all of you through her. I will try to do a better job of communicating with everyone in the future.

She was preceded in death in 1992 by my dad, Morrie, who she was married to for over 50 years and many many years before that by her brother John Galeazzo and sister Mary Grimaldi. Their children and grandchildren formed the core of Faustina's beloved family. Unfortunately, she was also preceded in death by her nephew Anthony Grimaldi in 2014 and by her beloved grand nephews Mark Galeazzo in 2008 and Stephen Galeazzo in 2015.

Besides Karyn, and her husband Vance Wappel, and myself, she is survived by her niece Nancy Souder and her husband Rick and her nephew John Galeazzo and his wife Susan. Her nephews, John Grimaldi and his wife Shirley, David Grimaldi and his wife Eve, and Anthony's wife Marlene and all their children and grand children. All of you were truly her children as much as I was, and she loved all of you deeply. You all were the fuel that fed her spirit and the the core reason why in her 80's and early 90's she would head back east every summer on crowded planes and through busy airports just to see everyone. Family kept her alive all these years. Thank you to all of you who welcomed her, celebrated her, housed her, fed her, and drove her around. You all have no idea what those trips and all of you meant to her.

I want to publicly thank two women who actually shared a roof with my mom, living with her for years as my other half, my ex wife Kim who did for over 15 years and Laura Crandall. Thank you, I know it wasn't easy.

I also want to acknowledge and thank two women who played a very significant role in Faustina' s life and to whom she was very close to when we lived on Cottontail Lane in Peoria AZ, our neighbors, Ann Cookson and Janice Swiebocki. She treasured both of you.

There are countless others, both family and friends from a long life lived in many places, to talk about, acknowledge, and thank, and I will in the coming month as I recount Faustina's life on here and put up the many pictures that span her lifetime. I hope you will check back regularly and leave your own thoughts and pictures if you have them. Faustina always had room at her table for everyone, the more the merrier, so I hope you will all join in celebrating her life with me. Please leave a way for me to contact you or contact me with it so I can let you know the date of her live celebration in Erie in September.

Today, writing about her and getting all the pics I can up is my way of spending her birthday with her. The pictures are in somewhat chronological order early but then really at random. I plan to upload more each week for the next few weeks. They will appear before the ones up now before I do to indicate they are new. Please feel free to add any additional pics if you have them

I chose the candle theme to honor her because from the time I was small she always lit a candle after church and said a prayer. So in her memory, light a candle and say a little prayer for someone you love. Thank you all for loving her and being in her life. It was an amazing journey.

Mike

June 25th, 2016


PO Box 593
West Haven, CT 06516
Mike.puleo@yahoo.com
475-235-7388