The Nest Gets Emptier

We now have one less person in our household as RoseMary moved out last week. I guess it would have technically happened several months ago had she chosen to go to college, but she did not, even though she had applied and been accepted. And that's OK with me. College isn't for everyone...I barely made it through myself. And it costs so much sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it. She has been working full-time since before high-school graduation last year and has been wanting to move out (especially since I started charging her rent beginning this year). So she moved in with some friends across town. We'll see how things go. Rents are high around here and working full time at a pizza place barely pays enough for that and a few other necessities. She knows she can come back if she needs to. Meanwhile, what to do with her room. We have a few ideas, but I don't want to do anything too drastic until we see how permanent this arrangement ends up being.

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2008 The Year in Review

Also know as the annual Christmas letter....JUST TWO MONTHS LATE...and just the highlights. Have been really busy so did not get around to this when I should have.

The year started with William heading to the hospital for surgical removal of his thyroid. It had been giving him a lot of problems over the past year or so being abnormally enlarged and hyperactive. Control of the high levels of hormone being pumped out could not be achieved by medication so the surgical removal was the last option. It was performed at the local hospital and everything went well with no complications. William has since and for the rest of his life will have to take synthroid to replace the hormone from the missing thyroid, but it has been much easier to do this than to try to control things the other way. Since the surgery, Will has done much better at school and has been much less jittery and is also eating a lot less. The rainbow at left appeared the morning of his surgery, like an indication that everything would go well.

Here is Will in his hospital bed, under a large bear that some girl from school gave him.







In June RoseMary graduated from High School. While she had earlier planned on going to college, she ultimately changed her mind and has been working full time for Cici's Pizza ever since. She is definitely one of the most responsible and hard-working employees at the local franchise (from what we hear) and for the year 2008 she actually made more money than her mother. Of course you have to remember that her mother is off 3 months of the year plus weekends and holidays.



John and Wynne both turned 50 this year so they are both officially old fogies now. John says that ever since his 50th birthday in September he has had increasing numbers of aches and pains. I think Wynne feels the same way. They will make such a graceful old couple.

In October, John and Will went to Columbus to see the Penn State versus Ohio State football game. It was a charter bus trip and they stayed Friday and Saturday night in a hotel (the same place the Penn State players stayed). Will rooted for Ohio State, but Penn State won. Don't ask how Will became an Ohio State fan...we don't know.




Will finally got his drivers license late in the year. He turned 17 in December. RoseMary turned 19 in September.

Now you're up to date, pretty much.

Family History

The sum total of our genealogical research so far (with help from many others)

Click here to see our family tree

The Gresiak and Grzesiak Line

The Tucciarone Line (including Carano and Scarpine)

The Karpinski Line (Poland and Denmark)

The Kasovich Line (under construction)

The Bartholomew Line (under construction)

The Beeman Line (under construcion)

The Beemans

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Bartholomews

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Kasovich Line

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Tucciarone Line

Rosaline Tucciarone, John's mother, was born in Coalburg, Hubbard Township, OH in 1924. (Click here to read about the Tucciarone family) (Requires Abobe Acrobat Reader, free from Adobe). She had two brothers, Andew (Buster) and John (Jack). Except for brief work-related jaunts to Florida, she spent her life in Hubbard, attending Saint Patrick's Elementary School and Hubbard High School. While she originally worked at Truscon, much her working life was spent as an executive secretary to Monte Friedkin and his family, who owned and operated Benada (later Easco) Aluminum in Girard, OH and then Friedkin Industries, a holding company for a variety of ventures, and, most recently, FI Management in Boca Raton Florida. Rosaline recently turned 80 and was feted at a surprise party given by her son, John and nephew Jim Tucciarone and his wife Kathy (who was John's 7th-grade teacher). Rosaline is retired but is still active doing volunteer work for the Hubbard Alumni Asssociation and enjoys spending time with friends and family. Shown at left is a picture of Rosaline and her husband Andrew Gresiak taken at Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, OH in the late 1960's

William Tucciarone ("Papa"), John's maternal grandfather, was born in Sharon, PA on February 12, 1901. In 1903, William and his parents moved to Coalburg, OH (just a few miles over the state line). Coalburg is part of Hubbard Township. After several months, they moved into Hubbard. In 1913, they moved back to Coalburg where William spent much of the remainder of his life. He married Mary Carano on November 28,1922. They lived in Coalburg with William's parents. The location was known as "the farm" as it was a large property where a large variety of crops and fruits were grown. William worked for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. William died February 16,1998. At left is a picture of William and his wife, Mary Carano taken on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1972 in Hubbard, OH.

Mary Carano, John's maternal grandmother, was born on June 20, 1901. She and William Tucciarone were married on November 29, 1922.Presumably, she was born and they were married in or near Hubbard, OH, but I have not certified this. William and Mary lived with his parents, Andrew and Rose Tucciarone, on "the farm", on North Bellwick Rd in Coalburg, Hubbard Township. Mary was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother throughout her life. Mary died on December 10, 1981.

Andrew (Andrea in Italy) Tucciarone, father of William Tucciarone, was born on April 4, 1874 in Tufo, Provincia de Caserta, Italy. In the town of Tufo there is a street, a bridge and a building bearing the name "Tucciarone".On May 22,1896, Andrew left Italy from the port of Naples on the S.S. Algeria and arrived in New York City on June 8, 1896. He lived in New York for some time before moving to Sharon, PA (just across the state line from Hubbard, OH.) to "get away from the big city". This is where he met Rosaline Scarpine. They were maried on August 8, 1899 at Sacred Heart Church in Sharon, PA. Their first home was at 40 Hickory St. in Sharon. Andrew died on December 3, 1946.

Rosaline (Rose) Scarpine was born December 3, 1882 in Colobraro, Provincia di Potenza, Basilicata, Italy. She left Italy from the port of Naples on February 24, 1899 on he S.S. Victoria, arriving in New York on March 17, 1899.She was met my her aunt, Philomena Cuifo, of Sharon, PA, who had sent for her to come to America. This is how Rosaline ended up in Sharon and met Andrew. Rosaline died on August 20, 1978. Rosaline is pictured in the center of the photo to the left. This was taken in 1972.





Andrew Tucciarone's parents were Biagio Tucciarone and Theresa Paparella.His grandparents were Guiseppi Tucciarone and Maria Antonia Piembia. This is as far back as the Tucciarone family has been traced at this time.

Rosaline Scarpine's parents were Nicholas and Philomena Ross Scarpine. Nicholas was the son of Joseph and Rosaline (last name unknown) Scarpine. This is as far back as the Scarpine family has been traced at this time. Philomena Ross Scarpine was the daughter of Frank and Theresa (last name unknown) Ross.