Dear USF community,
It is my sad duty to inform you that Leona Antoinette Lazzareschi Tarantino, wife of USF Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Dominic A. Tarantino ’54, died Jan. 25, 2021. She was 88 years young. Leona was born in San Francisco and was an alumna of San Francisco College for Women, later Lone Mountain College, and now USF, class of 1954. She earned a degree in art history with an English minor. She and Dom met in high school. Leona attended Presentation Academy and Dom attended St. Ignatius Prep. They were both first-generation college students. They married the summer after they graduated from college and headed to Germany where Dom was stationed for two years in the Army. They have three adult children, J. Robert, Stephen, and Leanne ’90, and six grandchildren.
Leona and Dom had an extraordinary marriage for 66 years and were blessed with a loving family, countless friends, and travel to all corners of the globe, with trips most summers to Leona’s family home at the Russian River. Always rooted in San Francisco, they lived a bi-coastal life in Greenwich, Conn., for more than 30 years and made lifelong friends along the way. They returned to San Francisco in 2012.
Dedicated to her family and the love of her life, Dom, Leona was an exceptionally gifted artist sketching many beautiful family Christmas cards. She was a devout Catholic who warmly welcomed many USF friends into her heart and home. Her obituary is available here.
A private funeral Mass for the immediate family will be held Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, at 11 a.m. in St. Ignatius Church. The Tarantino family invites you to join the livestream on St. Ignatius Church’s YouTube channel (click on the “Live” tab). A memorial Mass will be planned after COVID restrictions are lifted.
Notes of condolence may be sent to:
Mr. Dominic A. Tarantino and Family
c/o USF President’s office
Please join me in offering prayers and condolences to Dom and his family.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J.
President