John "Tito" P. Francona

John P. 'Tito' Francona

John P. "Tito" Francona, 84, of New Brighton, passed away suddenly Tuesday, February 13, 2018, in the emergency room at Heritage Valley Beaver.
Born November 4, 1933, in Aliquippa, he was a son of the late Rev. Carmen and Josephine (Skubis) Francona. Tito played professional baseball for 15 seasons, but his favorite team was the Cleveland Indians, where his son Terry is now the manager. After baseball, he was head of the Beaver County Parks & Recreation Department where he implemented many projects still in use today. He was a member of the Holy Family Catholic Church in New Brighton and had served with the U.S. Army in the Korean War.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Roberta Francona, in 1992, and one brother, David D. Francona, in 1978.
Surviving are his wife, Jean (Pasquale) Francona, whom he married on February 28, 1998; one son, Terry Francona, Tucson, Ariz.; one daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Duane Shumaker, Tucson, Ariz.; four grandchildren, Nick Francona, Alyssa Francona, Leah (Michael) Rice and Jamie Francona; two great-grandchildren, Olivia Rice and Henry Michael Rice, and their mother and grandmother, Jacque Francona, Boston, Mass.; a sister-in-law, Jeanne Francona, Jensen Beach, Fla.; his in-laws, Dorothy Sigler, Conway; John (Maureen) Pasquale, Beaver Falls, Robert (Carol) Pasquale, North Sewickley Twp., and Joseph (Bernadette) Pasquale, South Park, and many nieces, nephews and their families.
Friends will be received Friday from 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the J&J SPRATT FUNERAL HOME, 1612 Third Ave., New Brighton, www.jjsprattfh.com, where prayer will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. in the Holy Family Catholic Church, with the Rev. Father Tom Kredel officiating.
Interment will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, New Brighton.
 

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