by Andrew Bagley

The Tomasellos are a tireless lot. A characteristic probably attributed to their bloodline and heritage originating in Santo Stefano di Camastra, province of Messina in Sicily. Salvatore and Marion Tomasello, Richard Tomasello's grandparents, were part of the "immigrant newcomers" during the turn of the 20th century. The couple gave birth to Emanuel Victor Tomasello, Richard's father, in New York City in 1912.

When Emanuel was a teenager, his family moved to Milwaukee, where he would meet his future wife Rosalie Farina and later marry her in 1934. They started a family and conceived nine children, five boys and four girls spanning almost twenty years.

During this time, Emanuel earned his high school diploma; enrolled in Marquette University where he obtained two Master's degrees; learned formal Italian; operated his own window washing business; and taught French, Spanish and English at a junior college at night and public schools for thirty years before retiring at 70.

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Fonte: L'italo-Americano