Obituary of Alfio Lanza

Alfio "Freddy" Lanza, 87 years old, of Liverpool, N.Y. died the evening of March 1, 2016, in his native birthplace of Randazzo, Catania, Italy, surrounded by his loving wife Teresa and his extended family. Alfio fought the fight against cancer for twelve years and has now gone to his final rest with our Lord. Alfio was the youngest of eight children. He was the last remaining sibling. His father Salvatore was an agricultural worker and his mother, Maria Antonia was a homemaker. At age 15, in 1943, he fought with Italian Partisans alongside American and British troops in Sicily. His Italian unit was subsequently absorbed into the American 5th Army as a "Pack Mule Company" which supplied the 5th Army as they fought up the boot of Italy. He continued assisting the Allied Forces until the end of the war. After the war, he worked as a police officer in the vice squad division in Ravenna, Italy. Later, he returned to his hometown and started two grocery stores, of which he gave one to his brother, and the other to his mother and sister to assist them in the post war economy. In 1956, he emigrated to the United States of America and settled on the north-side of the city of Syracuse. Alfio worked in construction for a few years, and later became a licensed cosmetologist whereupon he worked at several locales including Hotel Syracuse. In 1966, he purchased a bakery in Fulton, N.Y. and named it LaFornarina Bakery to which he later added a pizza shop called, Lanza's Pizza. He and his wife Teresa retired in 1991. After retirement, Alfio and his wife enjoyed traveling to Italy to spend time with relatives and friends. He also loved touring historic sites around NYS and frequent Sunday picnics with family. He enjoyed cooking with his wife and came up with delicious concoctions to the delight of his family. Surviving him are his wife of 64 years, Teresa (Gullotto) Lanza; a son Salvatore (Katrina) Lanza Esq.; daughter, Dr. Antoniette (Jon) Spinosa, and granddaughters Margaret Spinosa and Gabriella Lanza. A special thank you to his physician, nursing and support staff at Brittonfield Oncology Center. His nephews, Piero Alfonso, Joseph (Pino) Lanza, as well as family and neighbors who assisted Alfio and his wife during his last days. A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Arena, a dear family friend and devoted physician who cared for Alfio in Italy. Services were held at the Church of San Francisco de Paola in Randazzo. Burial took place in his hometown of Randazzo. Michael E. Brown Funeral Services, Cazenovia is assisting the Lanza family.