My father recently passed away very unexpectedly this past winter at the age of 64. His name was also Frank DeSonia (Big Frank). Since his passing, times have been tough for the family mentally, spiritually and financially as he was 90% of the income between himself and my mother.
My father absolutely loved Forest Park. He called Forest Park home for over 20 years and raised four children here as well. I believe he finally found his niche here and felt a part of the community, something I think he’d been searching for most of his life. Many Forest Parkers knew my father either as fellow parishioners at St. Bernardine Church, parents of students who attended St. Bernardine School, or from his many functions. He volunteered for over 10 years, such as Monday night bingo or the annual spaghetti dinner.
Long story short, I’ve decided to try my hand at honoring my father’s memory, his passion for cooking, and his helping-hand mentality with an endeavor of my own. I’ve recently started a GoFundMe page to begin a business selling his most famous food creations, which, for the love of God, I am glad I learned to make just as well.
The goal is $12,000, of which ¼ will be donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository in his memory. The rest will go toward funding a dream he had to sell his food. I would be grateful beyond words if the Review could help draw some attention to this. I am also more than willing to give any more information about this endeavor. If you’d like to take a look at the GoFundMe page so far, the link is: www.gofundme.com/afathersdream65.
Frank DeSonia
