OBITUARY FOR NICK FIORI, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 2019

 

                        NICOLO "NICK" FIORI    

2019 obituary for Nick Fiori, Class of 1948

 

The 2019 obituary for Nick Fiori, Class of 1948, stumbled into my view 5 years later.

Nicolo Fiori passed away in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. His parents were Angelo Fiori and Pasqulina Garbrielli Fiori. Their Walnut Street home was adjacent to a Camden Avenue/Walt Street baseball field we used as children.

Nick caddied at Fairmont Field Club when I did. He was famous for playing a Japanese soldier up a tree who fell out while shot from one of us playing an American soldier. Nick whacked all the breath out of himself for several minutes, to our dismay. But he recovered quickly.

Nick served his country in the Navy, was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent his post-Navy life mostly in South Carolina.

Nick’s sister was Rosemary, who brought along her friend Betty White to visit Nick in New York. Three months later Nick and Betty married in 1954 in Fairmont, where they lived for years while rearing their 3 children.

In 2015 they moved back to familiar South Carolina.

 

Belatedly here’s Nick’s obituary for those, like me, who missed it in 2019:

 

 

Nicolo Fiori (Nick) passed away peacefully on May 28, 2019 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Nick, who was 89, died as a result of complications from pneumonia.
Nick was born on July 24, 1929 in Fairmont, West Virginia to the late Angelo Fiori and Pasqulina (Gabrielli) Fiori. He grew up in Monongah, West Virginia and graduated from Monongah High School in 1948.
Upon graduation, Nick joined the United States Navy and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. After an honorable discharge, he moved to Niagara Falls where he worked at Olin Matheson. His move to New York allowed Nick to be closer to three of his siblings, including his sister Rosemary. In 1954, Rosemary's friend Carmella Sachetti from Fairmont traveled to Niagara Falls for a visit. Carmella brought along a friend Betty White for the 13-hour bus ride. During the visit, Rosemary introduced Betty to her brother Nick and the rest is history. That introduction let to a three-month courtship and they were married in September of 1954 at Grace Lutheran Church in Fairmont.
After a brief honeymoon, the couple resided in Niagara Falls. While in New York, the couple had three children, Elizabeth Ann, Tina Marie, and Michael Anthony. In 1967, Nick, Betty and the kids moved back to Fairmont and lived on Speedway Avenue for 48 years. In, Fairmont Nick held several jobs prior to employment at Helmick Foundry where he worked until retirement. After retirement, he worked as the door greeter at Wal-Mart in Fairmont for approximately 10 years. For those of you in Fairmont who did not know him personally, you likely encountered his warm smile and cheerful demeanor as you entered the store.
In September of 2015, Nick and Betty moved from Fairmont to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina to be closer to family. Nick will always be remembered as a kind and selfless person who always put his children and grandchildren first.
Nick was a modern man before modern men were cool. After working an 8-hour shift in the foundry, Nick would often come home and prepare homemade pasta, cutting the noodles by hand, and while the noodles were boiling, he would vacuum, or do laundry, or clean the house. He was a true partner to Betty.
Nick was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and two sisters, a daughter Elizabeth (Liz), and his spouse of 61 years, Betty. He is survived by son-in-law Alan Hartley and grandsons Cale Hartley and Graham Hartley of Charleston, South Carolina, daughter Tina McClain and husband Brett of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, grandson Kellen McClain of Charlotte, North Carolina, granddaughter Marissa McClain of Clemson, South Carolina, son Michael Fiori and wife Ellen and grandson Carson Fiori of Huntersville, North Carolina, and grandson Nicholas Fiori of Boone, North Carolina.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in Nick's name can be made to the charity of your choice. A memorial service to celebrate Nick's life will be held at a later date in Fairmont.